After celebrating Yoga Day in New York, the prime minister will then travel to Washington D.C., where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22, and meet President Biden to continue their high-level dialogue, reports Asian Lite News
People belonging to more than 180 countries will participate in the Yoga Day event at the United Nations headquarters in New York which will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in the mass yoga demonstration at Rajpath (now Kartavya Path) on the occasion of International Yoga Day in New Delhi.
According to sources, this year’s Yoga Day event will be special since PM Modi will be leading the celebration on a large scale. The event will witness prominent people from all walks of life. He will be joined by people from more than 180 countries. Eminent personalities like Diplomats, leaders, artists, cultural icons, academicians, and entrepreneurs will be part of the event.
PM Modi will start his first state visit to the US on June 20. The visit will commence in New York where the Prime Minister will lead the celebrations of the International Day of Yoga at the United Nations Headquarters on June 21.
After celebrating Yoga Day in New York, the prime minister will then travel to Washington D.C., where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House on June 22, and meet President Biden to continue their high-level dialogue.
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host a State Dinner in honour of the Prime Minister the same evening, according to a release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
PM Modi will at the invitation of US Congressional Leaders, including Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Speaker of the Senate Charles Schumer, address a Joint Sitting of the US Congress on June 22.
On June 23, the prime minister will be jointly hosted at a luncheon by US Vice President Kamala Harris and State Secretary Antony Bilnken. In addition to official engagements, the Prime Minister is scheduled to have several curated interactions with leading CEOs, professionals, and other stakeholders. He will also meet members of the Indian Diaspora. (ANI)
Prime Minister says it’s time to realise the infinite possibilities associated with yoga…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated along with thousands of people in a Mass Yoga Demonstration at the Mysore Palace ground here on the occasion of 8th International Day of Yoga (IDY) on Tuesday, and said that ‘Yoga has become a way of life’.
Integrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ with celebrations of 8th IDY, Mass Yoga demonstrations are being organised at 75 iconic locations across the country under the leadership of 75 Union Ministers, along with the Yoga Demonstration by the Prime Minister. The Yoga demonstrations are also being held by various educational, social, political, cultural, religious, corporate and other civil society organisations and will be attended by crores of people across the country.
The Prime Minister’s Yoga programme at Mysuru is also part of the novel programme
‘Guardian Yoga Ring’, which is a collaborative exercise between 79 countries and United Nations organisations along with Indian Missions abroad to illustrate Yoga’s unifying power that surpasses National boundaries.
Since 2015, the International Day of Yoga (IDY) has been celebrated worldwide on June 21 every year. The theme for this year’s Yoga day is “Yoga for Humanity”. The theme portrays how Yoga served humanity in alleviating suffering during the Covid Pandemic.
Governor of Karnataka Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Minister for Ayush Sarbananda Sonowal were among those present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said the yogic energy, which has been nurtured for centuries by the spiritual centers of India like Mysuru, is today giving direction to global health.
“Today yoga is becoming a basis for global cooperation and is providing a belief of a healthy life to mankind,” he added. He said, “Today we see that Yoga has come out of the households and has spread all over the world and this is a picture of spiritual realization, and that of natural and shared human consciousness, especially in the last two years of an unprecedented pandemic,” PM Modi stated.
He further said, “Yoga has now become a global festival. Yoga is not only for any individual, but for the entire humanity. Therefore, this time the theme of International Day of Yoga is – Yoga for humanity.” He thanked the United Nations and all the countries for taking this theme globally.
Quoting the Indian sages, the Prime Minister emphasized “Yoga brings peace for us. The peace from yoga is not merely for individuals. Yoga brings peace to our society. Yoga brings peace to our nations and the world. And, Yoga brings peace to our universe.”
“This whole universe starts from our own body and soul. The universe starts from us. And, Yoga makes us conscious of everything within us and builds a sense of awareness,” he underlined.
The Prime Minister remarked that India is celebrating Yoga Day at a time when the country is celebrating its 75th year of Independence, the Amrit Mahotsav.
This widespread acceptance of Yoga Day, the Prime Minister said, “is the acceptance of that Amrit spirit of India which gave energy to India’s freedom struggle. That is why Mass Yoga demonstrations are being organised at 75 iconic locations across the country which have been witness to the glorious history of India and have been the center of cultural energy.”
“The experience of collective yoga at the historical sites of India is like tying together India’s past, India’s diversity, and India’s expansion”, he elaborated.
He also informed about the novel programme ‘Guardian Yoga Ring’, which is a collaborative exercise between 79 countries and United Nations organisations along with Indian Missions abroad to illustrate Yoga’s unifying power that surpasses national boundaries.
“As the sun moves from the east to the west across the world, the Mass Yoga Demonstrations in the participating countries, if seen from any one point on Earth, will seem to be happening one after the other, almost in tandem, thus underlining the concept of ‘One Sun, One earth’. “These practices of yoga are giving wonderful inspiration for health, balance and cooperation”, he added.
Modi pointed out that Yoga is not just part of life for us, today, it has become a way of life. He said Yoga need not be limited to a particular time and location.
He said, “No matter how stressful we are, a few minutes of meditation relaxes us and increases our productivity. Therefore, we do not have to take yoga as an extra work. We also have to know yoga and we also have to live yoga. We also have to achieve yoga, we also have to adopt yoga. When we start living yoga, Yoga Day will become a medium for us not to do yoga, but to celebrate our health, happiness and peace.”
The Prime Minister said that today is the time to realize the infinite possibilities associated with yoga. “Today our youth are coming in large numbers with new ideas in the field of yoga. He informed about the Startup Yoga Challenge by the Ayush Ministry. The Prime Minister congratulated the winners of 2021 winners of ‘Prime Minister’s Awards for outstanding contribution for Promotion and Development of Yoga’.”
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday took stock of the preparations during a meeting with the officials…reports Asian Lite News
The Madhya Pradesh government will organise yoga events at 75 historical places across the state on June 21 to mark the International Day of Yoga.
Besides the 75 historical places, yoga sessions will be conducted in all of the state’s 52 districts.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday took stock of the preparations during a meeting with the officials.
Chouhan, who will attend a yoga event at the Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal on June 21, said: “All the state ministers should participate in the programmes, as well as youth and social organisations.”
The Chief Minister also sought information about preparations from the collectors of Gwalior, Raisen, Chhatarpur and Anuppur districts, virtually attended Friday’s meeting.
He also directed the officials for wide publicity of the programmes.
According to officials who attended the meeting, arrangements would be made to broadcast the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief MinisterChouhan at all the venues in the state.
As per the step-by-step programme issued by the Centre, all the participants will have to be present from 6 a.m.
Chouhan’s message will be broadcast at 6.30 a.m., followed by that of the Prime Minister’s.
The Indian Embassy in UAE celebrated the 7th International Day of Yoga in Abu Dhabi themed ‘Yoga for Wellness’ in a first-of-its-kind gathering since the start of the pandemic, with guest of honour Sheikh Nahyan bin Mabarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, reports Asian Lite News
Ancient sciences of Ayurveda and Yoga had made India proud and are especially relevant now, said Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor ahead of International Day of Yoga.
The Indian Embassy in UAE celebrated the 7th International Day of Yoga in Abu Dhabi themed ‘Yoga for Wellness’ on Saturday at the Lawns of Ritz Carlton.
The first of its kind in person event amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic was attended by more than 100 Yoga enthusiasts, with UAE’s Minister of Tolerance & Coexistence Sheikh Nahyan bin Mabarak Al Nahyan as the Chief Guest.
Sheikh Nahyan while congratulating the Embassy for having successfully organised the event stated that it was indeed ‘a new beginning and a ray of hope’. He stressed on the need to remain vigilant and follow all health protocols to ensure safety for all.
While elaborating on the multiple benefits of Yoga he said that it is easily accessible to all, and could be done almost anywhere without any special equipment and that it best symbolised Tolerance and Coexistence.
All the participants and the supporting staff of the event strictly adhered to the safety norms laid down by the Abu Dhabi Government. Everyone present at the event had already received 2 doses of Covid -19 vaccine and had tested negative on RT-PCR test less than 48 hours ago. In addition, the participants wore masks at all times and maintained a safe distance of 2 metres.
Ambassador Pavan Kapoor thanked Sheikh Nahyan for his continued support for yoga, for India and for the Indian community in the UAE. He appreciated UAE’s successful vaccination drive and strict compliance of Covid-19 protocols that made a limited public event possible after a long time.
He expressed his sincere gratitude to the UAE authorities for the continued support to annual Yoga events since its inception in 2014, according to a press release issues by the Indian Embassy.
Kapoor explained the salience of the theme ‘Yoga for wellness’ chosen for 7th International Day of Yoga reflecting on the importance of holistic health in pandemic times. He added that the ancient sciences of Ayurveda and Yoga had made India proud and were especially relevant now as we observe India@75 or ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to mark 75 years of India’s independence.
The event which was also broadcast live across Embassy’s social media handles witnessed various facets of Yoga including laughter Yoga and various ‘Aasanas’ demonstrated by Yoga Gurus and experts, with an active participation of the attendees.
An Ayurvedic kit consisting of Ayurvedic products of daily use was also gifted to all the guests.
Qatar celebrates Yoga in 6 cities
Joining the world on seventh International Yoga Day (IYD) on Monday, six cities of Qatar have celebrated the the day.
The areas in the cities, which celebrated Yoga Day included the Asia Town (labour camp), the sand dunes of Mesaieed, the Monarch International Indian School in Al Wakra, the FIFA 2022 Stadium Al Bayt in Al Khor, the beaches of Dukhan, and the Iconic Museum of Islamic Art and the Corniche of Doha city.
It is the first time that the International Yoga Day event was simultaneously organised at different locations in Doha.
This year, the theme of the occasion is ‘Yoga For Wellness’, and will focus on practicing Yoga for physical and mental well-being.
Since 2014, the occasion has been observed in mass gatherings in different parts of the country.
The observation of Yoga Day is a global activity and the preparatory activities normally start 3-4 months prior to June 21. Millions of people are introduced to Yoga in the spirit of a mass movement as part of Yoga Day observation every year. (with inputs from ANI)
More than 3,000 people participated in the “Mind Over Madness Yoga” performances organised by the Indian Consulate General and the Times Square Alliance, reports Arul Louis
Rising from the pall of Covid-19 restrictions, New York City celebrated International Yoga Day at the Times Square with day-long performances of the ancient Indian art of developing a healthy mind and body.
The city’s celebrations were held on Sunday to coincide with the Summer Solstice, which falls a day early this year, but the UN is scheduled to observe the day virtually on Monday.
The UN General Assembly declared June 21 the International Day of Yoga in 2014 at the initiative of India with the support of 177 countries.
More than 3,000 people participated in the “Mind Over Madness Yoga” performances organised by the Indian Consulate General and the Times Square Alliance.
@IndiainNewYork
India’s Consul General Randhir Jaiswal said at the celebrations: “Yoga is a universal idea, universal thought, universal action. And what better place than Times Square to celebrate a universal thought. This is the crossroads of the world. You have people from all over the world coming, here people from five continents coming here, people from all cultures coming here. While we celebrate yoga in various parts of the world, celebrating yoga here in Times Square is very special, very unique, more so today when it happens to be Father’s Day, what a happy coincidence.”
Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris said yoga is about “health, harmony, unity and togetherness”.
New York State had dropped most Covid-19 restrictions on June 15 and Yoga Day was the first major event at Times Square.
The Consulate featured a stall with nature care, herbs and health materials from India, which Jaiswal said was to help people “live more in harmony with nature, more in harmony with traditional knowledge”.
The day has been observed at the UN with top officials joining in the mass exercises, except last year and this year because of the pandemic.
On Monday, the UN is scheduled to hold a virtual event at 8.30 a.m. (6 p.m. Indian Standard Time) that be telecast over UN TV, which is available on the internet, and on the Indian Mission’s social media.
@IndiainNewYork
Yoga can improve physical, mental health: Indian envoy
Yoga has the potential to provide both health and happiness by improving the physical and mental wellbeing of the people, especially given the impact of the global pandemic, India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu said, kicking off the 7th International Yoga Day celebrations in the country.
Sandhu participated in the yoga protocol session at the Indian House which was attended by embassy officials in-person, while a large number of people across the US joined the event virtually through Zoom and the embassy’s social media handles.
Welcoming the participants, Sandhu stressed on “yoga’s potential to provide both health and happiness by improving the physical and mental wellbeing of the people, especially given the impact of the global pandemic,” the Indian Embassy said in a press release.
He also noted that India and the US have stood shoulder to shoulder with each other in fighting the pandemic, it said.
All the five Consulates of India in the US — in New York, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and San Francisco — are also holding various programmes to mark the International Yoga Day.
Namita Piparaiya, Yoga and Ayurveda Lifestyle Specialist, Founder, Yoganama shares few ways you can extend your yoga practice into your daily life.
Yoga is a powerful practice that works on both the body and mind; that is why it helps in transforming the whole personality and not just the physical body. However, there’s a common misconception that yoga is all about complicated postures. That by doing a complicated backbend, or after achieving the full splits, we somehow become ‘better than we were before’. It limits the concept of yoga to something that you only do on the mat. It assumes that if you can’t do extreme postures, you can’t ever be good at or practice yoga.
Namita Piparaiya, Yoga and Ayurveda Lifestyle Specialist, Founder, Yoganama shares few ways you can extend your yoga practice into your daily life.
Moderation
As we learned from Goldilocks, moderation is the approach of ‘neither too much nor too little’. Moderation can be followed in all aspects of life, such as diet, speech, exercise, possessions, and everything else. The opposite of moderation would be either overindulgence which is harmful. Or completely denying ourselves to the extent of suppressing our needs which almost always backfires in the long run. Moderation keeps you away from extremes and therefore is a very sustainable strategy as it takes up very little energy.
You experience this in a yoga class when you hold postures for a more extended period. If you push yourself too much, you’ll come out of the pose before the time is up due to pain or extreme discomfort. Equally, if you are lazy while practicing, you won’t benefit from the time you’re spending on the mat. Apply the right amount of effort, and you have a rewarding yoga practice that leaves you feeling recharged and refreshed. And the ‘right effort’ can be different for everyone; that’s why everyone’s yoga practice will look different.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness refers to present moment awareness. It is a very powerful and well-researched practice that can change the very structure of our brain. Mindfulness meditation makes us more rational, less impulsive, and even increases our grey matter. The good thing is mindfulness can be practiced anytime during the day and not just while you’re meditating. You can be mindful when you’re eating, when you’re brushing your teeth, when driving, and so on. All you have to do is become completely aware of the activity you’re doing by observing it in full detail.
If you’ve done a yoga class, you’ve undoubtedly experienced mindfulness. Yoga is a great mindfulness practice because all postures are done with breath awareness. Even in Sun Salutations, you follow a specific breathing pattern. Each movement or transition is accompanied by an instruction to either inhale, exhale or hold the breath. When you hold a difficult single-leg balance like Natrajasana, you automatically become more mindful that you would lose your balance without awareness. In this way, yoga trains you to become aware of what you’re doing with the help of the breath or the difficult nature of posture. It is a great skill to start applying in your everyday life — both in emotional moments or while doing banal tasks like washing dishes.
Equanimity
Try doing a single leg balance when very angry or emotional, and you’ll likely have some trouble. In extreme circumstances, our inner emotional balance gets disturbed, reflecting in our physical state. In yoga, you learn to bring your balance back by taking some deep breaths or doing some gentle kriyas to re-center the body and mind.
And you can employ the breath anytime during the day when you feel overwhelmed. It could be if you’re angry at your boss or had an argument with a colleague, have received a defective product, or are stuck in traffic! With Yoga, you’ve trained yourself in resetting your nervous system by using your breath. And that’s a skill that you can employ multiple times during the day to be stronger and more patient to deal with the stresses of modern life.
In fact, without this skill, you cannot sit in meditation because the mind would be highly distracted. That is why in yoga, you practice pranayama before meditation as the breath helps your thoughts settle down. After that, your meditation can be productive as you will have better focus and concentration.
With consistent and regular yoga practice, you learn the value of the right amount of effort that teaches you the concept of moderation. A new or challenging posture leads you to stay in the present moment and be more mindful. And by employing the breath, you learn to consciously relax and unwind even in stressful situations such as a challenging posture. In this way, you develop the mental stamina and fitness to navigate your everyday life.
Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra on Monday shared yoga therapy to combat weakness, in her new Instagram post…reports Asian Lite News
Sharing a video that captures the actress practicing Mandukasana, she wrote: “To support all kinds of healing processes, the main source of energy comes from the core of our being. So, the Mandukasana is a very important asana as it focuses on your navel centre, which also happens to be your life-force centre called the second brain. It has the ability to give you the energy to combat all weaknesses. That’s why they say, ‘Go with your gut feeling’.”
Talking about how to go about the asana, she said: “In difficult times like these, we need to focus on ourself; so we can dispel all negativity and bring in positive energy to the centre of our core chakra called the ‘Manipura chakra’. Take in a deep breath and exhale while going down, stretching the spine and pressing on the navel. You will feel the energy flow to your solar plexus. Focusing on your navel will help you open your mind and reduce blood sugar levels as it works on the pancreas. It also helps improve the flexibility and mobility of the knee & ankle joints. Moreover, the frog pose helps reduce fat from thighs, belly, and hips.”
She added: “Please remember: people with knee, ankle, and back pain issues should avoid this asana — Tag a friend who should start this ritual right away.”
The Big Brother winner said Parsva Sukhasana would help relieve pent up stress and anxiety.
Sometimes, one needs to start their week on a calm and quiet note. Today is one such day for me when I just want to relax my mind and calm myself down. So today, I practiced the Parsva Sukhasana. It helps relieve the pent up stress and anxiety that gradually affects the immune system and one’s overall health. Physically, it helps stretch the neck, shoulders, obliques, and back,” she write with the clip.
“Take some time off whenever you can, choose to practice this asana, and let your mind and body just go with the flow. A calm and composed mind and body can deal with a lot more than we can think of. Tag a friend who should start this ritual right away!” the actress suggested.
Shilpa demonstrated a yoga asana that helps cure digestive troubles, apart from providing other health benefits as strengthening abdominal and lower back muscles and benefitting the hip and knee joints.
Shilpa posted a video on Instagram where she is seen performing the Pada Sanchalanasana (Cycling Yoga flow). The actress said many people get the asana wrong, and demonstrated the correct and incorrect ways in her video.
“To get some movement into our routine, a lot of us end up doing exercises that look easy to do and have a good effect on the body. However, while dedicating time to fitness is important, it is also very important to understand the technique and flow of each exercise for it to be fully effective. I’ve noticed a lot of people choosing the Cycling Yoga flow, or the Pada Sanchalanasana, to build core strength and abs. But, they seldom get the technique right. So, today while I practiced this flow, I decided to demonstrate the incorrect and correct forms too!” she wrote.
Sharing the health benefit of the asana, she added: “This asana strengthens abdominal and lower back muscles. It is good for the hip and knee joints. It also stimulates the digestive system and helps cure digestive troubles. When done right, this simple-looking asana packs in quite a punch. “
Asanas like Shavasana, Navasana, Tolasana, Suryanamaskar, Chakrasana helps in strengthening the overall being of kids. It aims to develop both physical health as well as cognitive skills in children … writes Puja Gupta
According to a National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health survey, 1 in 12 children practice yoga. Over the years, yoga has become increasingly popular among Indian children. It helps in improving balance, strength, endurance, and aerobic capacity. It can also help to boost memory, self-esteem, academic performance, and classroom behaviour, thereby reducing anxiety and stress in children.
It should focus focus on 3F’s — Fitness for the body, Focus on the mind, and Fun for the soul.
Fitness for body
Asanas like Shavasana, Navasana, Tolasana, Suryanamaskar, Chakrasana helps in strengthening the overall being of kids. It aims to develop both physical health as well as cognitive skills in children. It opens the energy channels throughout the body, increasing flexibility of the spine, strengthening bones, and stimulating the circulatory and immune systems. Along with proper breathing, these poses or asanas also calm the mind and reduce stress.
Focus on mind
Asanas like Pranayama, Padmasana, Sukhasana, and others, help a child to be aware of themselves and help them control their emotions. These act as a tool for calming and energizing the child to develop a state-of-relaxed mind, which is crucial for learning. It also develops social-emotional awareness, body awareness and coordination, and interpersonal skills.
Fun for soul
Children can adapt to all kinds of exercise and practicing yoga asana at an early age can lead them to having a healthy head start in life. In this fast-paced world, it helps to rejuvenate kids inside-out. The meditative pose helps to relax both our mind and body. It promotes spiritual awakening and awareness of higher consciousness. It is a perfect choice if you want a holistic approach to mind and body strength.
ADHD in Children
Yoga and breathing exercises have a positive effect on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The researchers, including Sergey Kiselev from the Ural Federal University, say that after special classes, children improve their attention, decrease hyperactivity, they do not get tired longer, they can engage in complex activities longer.
“Exercise has an immediate effect that appears immediately, but there is also a delayed effect. We found that exercise has a positive effect on regulation and control functions in children with ADHD and one year after the end of the exercise,” Kiselev said.
“This happens because the child’s correct breathing is automated, it becomes a kind of assistant that allows a better supply of oxygen to the brain, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the behaviour and psyche of a child with ADHD,” Kiselev added.
For the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the team studied the effect of exercise on functions associated with voluntary regulation and control in 16 children with ADHD aged six to seven years.
The team used a special breathing exercise based on the development of diaphragmatic rhythmic deep breathing — belly breathing.
According to the researcher, such breathing helps to better supply the brain with oxygen and helps the reticular formation to better cope with its role.
“For children with ADHD, as a rule, the part of the brain that is responsible for the regulation of brain activity — the reticular formation — is deficient,” the researcher said.
“This leads to the fact that they often experience states of inadequate hyperactivity, increased distraction and exhaustion, and their functions of regulation and control suffer a second time,”Kiselev added.
In addition to breathing exercises, psychologists used body-oriented techniques, in particular, exercises with polar states “tension-relaxation”.
To help with the recovery via yoga, The Pink Lotus Academia, an online and offline tutorial platform focused on Indian classical artforms and yoga, suggests asanas that go a long way in building immunity, relaxing the body and mind, leading to faster healing post-Covid …. Writes Siddhi Jain
As the world reels under a severe Covid wave, nearly every family has had a brush with the debilitating virus, and many members are going through a slow recovery. To help with the recovery via yoga, The Pink Lotus Academia, an online and offline tutorial platform focused on Indian classical artforms and yoga, suggests asanas that go a long way in building immunity, relaxing the body and mind, leading to faster healing post-Covid.
The ancient practice of yoga is known to offer scientifically proven solutions to many everyday problems both physical and mental. From increasing immunity to improving the function of vital organs of the body, from reducing stress to minimizing depression, yoga plays a major role if you choose the right asanas and practice them with awareness. These select asanas strengthen your body and mind, increase immunity, and take away fatigue.
Staff pose
This simple asana comes with many benefits for the body. It stretches the shoulders and chest, strengthens the back muscles and improves posture.
Step 1: Sit on the floor with your legs extended in the front. Keep the back straight, you may sit on a blanket or a cushion to keep the pelvis slightly raised. To ensure perfect alignment of the upper body, you can sit against a wall. The sacrum and the shoulder blades should touch the wall, but lower back and the back of the head must not.
Step 2: Sit on the front of the sitting bones so that the pubis and tailbone are equidistant from the floor. Firm the thighs, press them down against the floor, without hardening the belly, and flex your ankles and feet.
Step 3: Visualise your spine as the “staff” — the vertical core of your torso rooted in the ground, hold the pose for a minute or two.
Cat and Cow pose
This asana combines the Cat pose (Marjaryasana) and Cow pose (Bitilasana) to gently stretch the body and warm-up it up to relieve stress, and massage the spine and stomach organs.
Step 1: Start on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders, and knees under the hips. Look down at the mat.
Step 2: Move into Cow pose by inhaling and drop your belly towards the mat. Lift your chin and chest, and gaze up toward the ceiling. Broaden your shoulder blades.
Step 3: Move into Cat pose by exhaling, and draw your belly to your spine and pull your back toward the ceiling, just like a cat stretches its back.
Step 4: Release the crown of your head toward the floor, don’t let the chin drop. Inhale, come back to Cow pose, then exhale as you return to Cat pose. Repeat 5-20 times.
Butterfly pose
This asana stretches the inner thighs, groin and knees, and improves flexibility, removes fatigue from long hours of standing and walking.
Step 1: Sit with your spine erect and legs extended in the front. Bend your knees and bring your feet towards the pelvis. Let the soles of your feet touch each other.
Step 2: Hold your feet tightly with your hands, you could also place them under the feet for support. Try to bring the heels as close to the pelvis as possible. Take a deep breath in.
Step 3: Breathe out, and press the thighs and knees downward gently towards the floor.
Step 4: Start flapping both the thighs up and down like the wings of a butterfly. Starting slowly, gradually increase the speed. Keep breathing normally throughout. Flap as fast as you comfortably can. Slow down and then stop.
Step 5: Take a deep breath in, then exhale and bend forward, keeping the chin up and spine erect. Press your elbows on the thighs, pushing them towards the floor. Feel the stretch in the inner thighs. Breathe long and slow, relaxing the muscles. Take a deep breath in and bring the torso up. Exhale and gently release the posture.
Pigeon pose
By stretching your thigh, groin and back, this asana works as an antidote to the strain of sitting for long hours, and calms your mind. It also stretches outer hips and prepares you for seated postures and backbends.
Step 1: Start on all fours, bring your right knee forward towards your right wrist, so that your right ankle will be in front of your left hip. Slide your left leg back and point your toes and heel towards the ceiling.
Step 2: Draw your legs in towards each other. Inhale and come onto your fingertips, stretch your spine, pull the navel in and open your chest.
Step 3: Exhale and walk your hands forward and lower your upper body towards the floor. You can rest your forearms and forehead on the mat. Stay for a count of 5 breaths or more.
Step 4: Push back through the hands, lift your hips and move your leg back into all fours. Repeat on the other side.
Here are five things you can practice for better breath control and easier breathing … a special report by Sarvesh Shashi. (Inputs are from Sarvesh Shashi, Founder, SARVA, yoga-based wellness platform.)
Yoga is often mistaken as an ‘exercise’ that only caters to the body. But the most important thing we forget, is that the central dogma of yoga is breath. Life is breath.
“We breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, it’s simple biology,” is what some said. But breathing is a very powerful way to control the mind.
Here’s an example, if you breathe slowly and deliberately, you begin to feel sleepy. Your heart rate normalizes and you feel calmer. But when you are stressed, your breath quickens, it increases blood pressure. It increases heart rate and so on. If we flip the situation here and breathe easy while stressed, we’re training our body to react calmly to situations of stress! I’d say breathing is not just inhaling and exhaling, it’s actually a complex combination of intricate internal processes that lead to life!
Here are five things you can practice for better breath control and easier breathing.
The first pose is Bhujangasana or the Cobra pose. Designed to open the chest muscles, the Bhujangasana is a beginner-friendly pose that not only provides relief in asthamatic conditions but also allows one to calm the mind and promotes an overall feeling of happiness.
The second pose is the Ardha Matsyendrasana or the half fish pose. Designed to be a great twist for the upper body, this induces deeper breathing than usual and enhances the muscles of the Lungs to perform better. It also aids in better circulation to the body and provides relief in times of stress.
The third pose is the toughest. No its not an elaborate twisting and balancing exercise, its Shavasana. We carry tension around our bodies for several days/weeks and some of us even years! This can really affect our breathing patterns. Shavasana helps regulate these in a resting pose. Clearing your mind of the chaos and the body of all the tension is a challenging task for us, who live every single conscious moment thinking or doing something!
The last two are breathing techniques that one must practice to breathe better. Not just this, there are a host of other benefits that are attached to these.
The concept of pranayama is often mistaken for deep breathing.The difference is, In pranayama the movements are so slow that there is adequate time for every part of the lung to absorb in oxygen. Breath retention is a powerful way to energise the body.
Anulom vilom is a specific type of controlled breathing (pranayama). It involves holding one nostril closed while inhaling, then holding the other nostril closed while exhaling. The process is then reversed and repeated. Alternate nostril breathing is said to have many physical and psychological benefits, including stress reduction and improved breathing and circulation.
And lastly, Bhramari Pranayama. Bhramari word is made from the Hindi word “Bhramar” which means Bumble Bee. Brahmari (Bee Breath) is a very effective pranayama for calming the mind. The activity of this respiratory exercise helps to induce a calming impact on the mind rapidly. Brahmari Pranayama edges in reducing high vital signs, fatigue, and mental stress. This Pranayama is one of the great breathing exercises to release the mind of disquiet, anxiety, or frustration and get rid of anger.
There is research that corroborates the fact that Yoga is very beneficial for breathing. While the universe of Yoga is endless. It speaks of asanas, pranayamas, mudras, meditation techniques that have several benefits from their practice, the above are suitable for beginners to start their journey to yoga. We must remember that breath is life and life is breath.
SARVA’s latest campaign #StarttohKaro is a call to action for people to start on their physical and mental health journeys with any style of activity that suits and excites them.
Consistent daily exercise, breathing techniques to boost immunity and good nutrition can do the trick, just like it did for me during the time I suffered from Covid. June is celebrated as International Day of Yoga Month, as it lauds a practice that ensures holistic well-being. We want people to start their tryst with good health and utilize our platform towards helping communities thrive and work towards feeling healthy, physically and mentally.
