Karmic Seeds Body Mind & Spirit

Yoga poses that will immediately ease the pain and improve the posture. 1.Cat Pose  Set up on all fours and make sure that your wrist and shoulders are in line, and so are your knees and hips. Open out your palms flat on your yoga mat and relax. Breathe and bend your back, tuck in your tummy. Repeat this 10 times. 2.Child’s pose  Start in all fours position. Exhaling, sink your hips back toward your heels and reach your arms out along the floor in front of you. Lower your hips. Reach through your arms, and extend into your shoulders and you bring your forehead to the floor between your hands. 3.Butterfly  You need to lie on your back with the soles of your feet together. Then let your knees fall out to the side. Rest the hands on your stomach and inhale through your nose. Feel your stomach expand and then exhale completely. Repeat this 15 times. 4.Downward Dog at the Wall Try to stand facing a wall with your hands at waist-height and walk your

How to Choose a Yoga Block? While you can perfectly practice yoga without any blocks, you can still use one either to deepen your stretch if you are an advanced yogi or to feel less strained in poses for which you don’t have enough flexibility. Which size of yoga block to choose? Yoga block sizes differ depending on the manufacturer. But the most common are 3x6x9 inches and 4x6x9 inches. If you have small hands smaller blocks will be easier for you to grip. Which material to choose? Here you’ve got a choice of  wood, foam, and cork . Each has their advantages and disadvantages, so choose whichever is better in your situation. 1)  Wooden  blocks are definitely the most  durable . On the downside, they may feel  slippery  when your hands get wet. In addition to that, wooden blocks are the heaviest weighing between 1.5 and 2.5 pounds or 0.5 and 1 kilo each. Foam blocks, for example, are up to 12 ounces (400 gram) and usually even lighter. 2) In addition to being sup

How to Relax in Savasana? There are people who feel comfortable in Savasana starting with their first yoga class. They follow the voice of the teacher slowly relaxing their body and quickly achieve the state of complete relaxation. But for many people, this conscious relaxation can be quite challenging. It’s hard to stop the whirlwind of thoughts even if for just 10 minutes. By removing distractions, finding ways to get comfortable and putting the nagging thoughts to rest you will be able to get more benefits from Savasana. Let's start with a quick reminder on how to do Savasana. Lie on your back, your legs relaxed, toes pointing outward, put your arms alongside your torso, palms up, close your eyes. Relax every part of your body and stay in the pose for 5–15 minutes. To exit the pose, slowly roll to your side. When you are ready, press your hands against the floor and slowly lift your body. Finish your practice with a few quiet breaths in Perfect pos

Cautions: Don’t practice Mountain Pose if you are currently suffering from a headache, low blood pressure, diarrhea, or insomnia. How to do Mountain Pose: step-by-step instructions Stand up straight, your legs together, the outer edges of the feet parallel to each other. Spread the weight of your body evenly between the heels, the toes, and the balls of both feet, keep your toes spread wide. Engage your legs and lift your kneecaps. Straighten your shoulders, open your chest, straighten your neck. Bring your pelvis toward the navel. Arms. Here there are several options:  Relax them beside the torso  Fold your hands in Namaste (Prayer) Raise   the arms up past your sides, palms facing each other. Stretch your torso upwards. Relax while maintaining your stability. Don't forget to breathe. Beginner tip:  It may be hard for some people to stay balanced with their feet together. In this case, you may place them a few inches apart. But make sure the outer edges of y

Plank pose  prepares your body for more advanced yoga poses . For example, you should attempt handstands only when you feel confident doing planks. If you don’t like doing a plank, it might be that you are making some alignment mistakes which complicate the pose. If you do everything correct, the pose no longer seems that hard and you may actually start to enjoy it very much! Cautions Don’t do this is you have carpal tunnel syndrome. Practice with caution if you have problems with back and wrists. How to do a plank pose Start with a Table Pose. Align your wrists to be right under your shoulders, palms and fingers pressed into the floor, middle fingers parallel to each other. Pay attention to your neck here. It shouldn’t be scrunched up. Don’t hunch your shoulders, instead pull them away from ears. Move your thighs backward and straighten your legs. Your heels should be right over the balls of the feet. Now your neck, spine, and legs should form one line (a mirror

Mental strength isn't often reflected in what you do. It's usually seen in what you don't do. Developing mental strength is a "three pronged approach." It's about controlling your:  thoughts  behaviors  emotions  1. They don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves Feeling sorry for yourself is self destructive, indulging in self-pity hinders living a full life. It wastes time, creates negative emotions, and hurts your relationships. The key is to affirm the good in the world, and you will begin to appreciate what you have. The goal is to swap self pity with gratitude. 2. They don’t give away their power. People give away their power when they lack physical and emotional boundaries. You need to stand up for yourself and draw the line when necessary. If other people are in control of your actions, they define your success and self-worth. It's important that you keep track of your goals and work toward them.  3. They do not shy away from cha

Constructive Rest Position, a powerful practice for anyone with spinal discomfort. by Donna Farhi, co-author of  Pathways to a Centered Body: Gentle Yoga Therapy for Core Stability, Healing Back Pain, and Moving with Ease . A recent collation of several back pain studies in America revealed that 8 out of every 10 Americans will have back problems at some point during their lifetimes, yet only one in ten people find out the primary cause of their pain. A further 54 percent of Americans who experience low back pain spend the majority of their workday sitting, a position that puts tremendous weight load pressures onto the intervertebral discs. Not so coincidentally, sitting for long hours in a chair also causes chronic tightness in the deep core muscles of the body. What are some of the most common warning signals that can help us to identify those that may be having issues with their lower backs? And what are some of the simplest things we can do in class that

An effective sankalpa is a short, positive, and precise statement about what you wish to attain for yourself and/or for the benefit of all. Pairing and using a Sanskrit mantra with your sankalpa can create a powerful and synergetic force to propel you towards your intention with greater speed, efficiency, and ease. You could use hundreds of sacred power words with a sankalpa, but I’ve discovered four mantras that are especially potent and relevant to use for a New Year’s intention. These four mantras are broad enough in their energetic effects to apply to just about any sankalpa while still being potent and effective. Chanting your chosen mantra as you focus on and work towards your intentions is a powerful practice in itself—but understanding the lesson behind the mantra will accelerate the fulfillment of your goals. Om Gum Ganapataye Namaha Translation:  Om and salutations to Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. May I be blessed with good luck, success, knowledge, and wisd