Karmic Seeds Body Mind & Spirit

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. ...

by Manorama   Prana means breath, life force, energy, and soul. But to truly understand prana requires that we make some clear distinctions.  Prana: Sanskrit & Its Yogic Origins  The word prana derives from:  Sanskrit Prefix Sanskrit Root Pra √an Pra  as a prefix to verbs means: forward, onward Pra  as a prefix to nouns: intensifies the root, or can mean that that root holds a place of source or origin and that the root meaning is in its most perfect state The root  √an  means to breathe, to be alive, to live.  Thus the noun prana means that state of perfect aliveness. To connect with prana, as yogis-in-training, is to connect with the original state of intelligent aliveness. An integrated understanding of prana will allow you to live in perfect harmony with all that is around you and to stay connected to the essential knowledge that lies deep within you.  What Constitutes the Pran...

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.. –  Pema Chodro n There are endless amounts of benefits of practicing yoga. I think one of the most confusing thing for people is understanding the difference between yoga and exercise, and that progression in practice does not mean progression in advanced postures.  So………. What Does Progression In Yoga Asana Practice Really Mean? Yoga is a 24/7 practice of awareness, consciousness, and unconditional love. It should be taken off the mat, and into our every action and thought. When we practice yoga postures, we’re actually using the physical body to understand what is going on internally on a spiritual level.  Progression in practice doesn’t have to do with how deep you can get into postures, if you can stic...

Common pre-exercise stretches and their more effective yoga alternatives.  1. Side neck stretch There are two problems with this stretch: 1. It is static and 2. It only involves the neck. Your neck doesn’t sit on top of your shoulders as a separate entity, it is linked to your spine, rib cage and shoulder blades via muscles, not to mention the connective tissue that links it to the rest of the body. So to make the neck stretch worth your while you need to move your cervical spine, your thoracic spine and your arms ( read more about working with neck tension ). The easiest way to adapt this stretch is to coordinate the movement of the head and the arm while keeping your spine in a slight side bend. HOW-TO: Bend sideways to your right. On the inhale move your left arm over the head in a side sweeping motion and look up (now the entire area between your left shoulder and your left ear is contracted). Exhale: sweep the arm down and behind your hip, while turning your head to ...

Yoga is one of the most trending type of exercises in the world. However, there are different types of yoga. Although they are almost just the same especially with the use of pranayama or breath control and poses or asanas. Each style has distinctions which made them popular. For practitioners especially for newbies, it is best recommended to know the different styles and  approaches in yoga. One should be aware of the many kinds of yoga practices. Here are the different types of yoga: Anusara is a yoga style that is known to be excellent for enhancing a person’s mood. It is not as much intense as the bikram or ashtanga yoga. It encourages the students to pay attention on the correct  alignment of the body in the execution of every asana. This kind of yoga is idyllic for the neophytes  since the introductory asanas are not overwhelming for beginners. There’s definitely no need to feel  nervous in trying this kind of yoga. Ash...

Often yoga is described as a journey for self-understanding-- a process for uncovering your true nature. Once we maintain a consistent yoga practice, we change—physically, emotionally, and mentally. Change is good! If we are different, we interact with others in a different way as well. Yoga can help us resolve issues in our relationships--past and present and future. Initially, changes manifest from our physical asana practice. We feel stronger, more flexible, and more open. This in turn effects how we relate to others and they relate to us. As we move beyond our physical yoga practice, these changes become more profound. To go further into personal transformation, try following the first two limbs of the Eight-limbed Path of Yoga, the Yamas and Niyamas. The Yamas are five personal observances: ahimsa or non-violence, satya or truthfulness, asteya or non-stealing, brahmacarya or moderation, and aparigraha or non-grasping. So, for instance if you practice Ahimsa or non-harming in...

OCTOBER 9, 2014        BY ANGELA WILSON We all know that yoga does a body (and a mind) good. But up until recently, no one could really say with any degree of certainty why—or even how—it improves conditions as varied as depression and anxiety, diabetes, chronic pain, and even epilepsy. Now a group of researchers at Boston University School of Medicine believe they’ve discovered yoga’s secret. In an article published in the May 2012 issue of Medical Hypotheses journal under an impossibly long title, Chris Streeter, PhD, and his team hypothesize that yoga works by regulating the nervous system. And how does it do that? By increasing vagal tone—the body’s ability to successfully respond to stress. The Study: The Effects of Yoga on the Autonomic Nervous System, Gamma-aminobutyric-acid, and Allostasis in Epilepsy, Depression, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. What Is Vagal Tone? Most of us don’t even know we have a vagus that needs toning...