Yoga breathing techniques for weight loss

Increased weight is one of the most faced problems in the modern world.  Lot of people are putting up weight and they do not have time to practice any exercise to reduce weight.  People are trying to eat less, eat healthy food, dieting, aerobics, dance, and many more to cut down the weight.  Is it really required to do so much in order to reduce weight?  There are some breathing techniques that help you to reduce weight and slim down.  Unbelievable, isn't it?  It was really unbelievable for me too when I read one article about breathing techniques to reduce weight.  I thought there is no harm in trying out these breathing exercises to reduce weight.  It really works..   Unlike gymming and hard exercises which give muscle cramps and body pains, these breathing exercises are very easy and painless techniques to lose weight easily.  So start practicing these breathing exercises and reduce your weight.....

There are lot of expensive equipments and weight loss work outs for reducing weight.  So you may have a doubt how can a simple and inexpensive breathing helps us to lose weight?  Here are some reasons which will convince you of the fact behind weight loss associated with breathing techniques in Yoga.

• Deep breathing increases the oxygen intake into the blood and rate at which carbon-di-oxide leaves the body slows down, thus giving us more energy to work out.
• Deep breathing promotes weight loss, because deep inhalation fills your lungs with fresh oxygen which gets transferred to all body cells. This increases oxidation and helps in burning fat cells.
• Breathing exercises boosts up metabolism.  The thyroid gland is responsible for regulating metabolic rate.  The deep breathing in Yoga triggers release of hormones from thyroid which stimulate metabolism and thereby indirectly leads to weight loss
•  Some yogic breathing exercises massage your abdomen and helps burn fats faster around the stomach.

Let us now start with some yoga breathing techniques combines with yoga poses which will accelerate weight loss.

Yoga breathing exercises for weight loss

 Pranayam :   

 Pranayam is a deep breathing technique.  There are a set of breathing exercises to reduce weight.  Here is a list of those exercises.


1. Kapalbhati : This is also known as breath of fire technique, this breathing technique is very much helpful to reduce weight.  Let us see how to practice it.

1.  Sit cross legged on your yoga mat
2. Keep your body straight, an elongated spine and chin up
3. Close your eyes and place your hands on your knees in a comfortable position
4. Your abdomen muscles should be completely relaxed, do not strain them
5. Now breath in deeply and exhale the air out of your nose as if in a sniff.  When you sniff out  the air, you will feel your abdomen pulling inwards
6. If you are a beginner, practice this breathing exercise 30-50 times.  Slowly increase the pace and continue for 10 minutes at a stretch.

If you have any heart disease,  please do not practice this exercise.



2. Bhastrika Pranayama : This is a breathing exercise which is meant to provide enough amount of fresh oxygen to the body.  Here is a procedure to practice Bhastrika Pranayama.

1. Sit comfortably on a yoga mat.  Keep your legs crossed one over the other as in Padmasana.
2. Place your hands on the knees with palms facing upwards, the tip of your thumb and ring finger pressing one against other
3. Now take normal breath and relax
4. Breath in deeply with all your strength so that your lungs are filled with oxygen
5. Now breath out forcefully through the nose such that a hissing sound is made
6. Repeat this for 10 times

You should not practice this breathing technique if you are suffering from a heart disease.

3. Anulom Vilom  Pranayama : This breathing technique is also known as alternate nostril breathing.  Let us see how to practice this breathing technique.

1. Sit with cross legged on a mat and relax
2. Close eyes and keep all the muscles relaxed
3. Now press the right nostril with the thumb of right hand and breathe in through the left nostril
4. Count until 5 to retain the breath
5. Now close the left nostril with ring finger of your right hand and leave the right nostril  to let the air exhale through the right nostril
6. Now again inhale through the right nostril while still keeping the left nostril pressed
7. Retain the breath for 5 counts and release the air through the left nostril
8. This completes  one round of Anulom Vilom Pranayama
9. Repeat this for 10 to 15 times

This exercise should be done in fresh air before taking breakfast.

4. Bramari pranayama : The word "Bramari" means Bee.  During the practice of this pranayama the sound produced imitates the sound of a humming bee.  So it is called as Bramari pranayama.  Let us see how to practice Bramari Pranayama.

1. Sit cross legged on a mat and relax with straightened spine
2. Close both the ears with thimbs.
3. Use middle finger of both hands to press lightly on the closed eyes
4. With the index finger, press the temples lightly
5. Place ring fingers and little fingers on the bridge of your nose
6. Now breath in deeply through the nose and exhale slowly through nose while making a humming sound and chanting OM in your mind
7. Do this exercise for 10 to 20 times

5. Surya Namaskara : The next yoga asana which is very much helpful for reducing weight is the Surya Namaskara or Sun salutation.    There are 12 steps in Surya Namaskar.  Each of these poses is accompanied with a sequenced breathing which if done with concentration promotes weight loss.

How Yoga is beneficial in curing diseases?

Yoga helps us in having a healthy body and mind, but it also helps in curing certain diseases which can not be cured even the most advanced medicines.  Yoga is being practiced from thousands of years for various diseases.

Yoga is very much helpful for people suffering from Diabetes and Heart problems.  Diabetes is controlled to a great extent by practicing Yoga.  One Yoga asana which is very effective in controlling diabetes is the Surya Namaskara.  Nadi Shodhana or alternative nostril breathing is one of the pranayama technique which helps to decrease glucose levels in our body.  Meditation also helps to be effective against diabetes.  The Pranayamam reduces the stress levels.   Some more yoga asanas which help people against diabetes are Shavasana, single leg raises, Surya Namaskara, double leg raises, shoulder stretches and Matsyasana. 

Yoga is also helpful for people suffering from cardiac disorders.  Yoga enhances the flexibility in the body and therefore controls blood pressure.  Yoga provides relief from stress and anxiety.   The Bhujangasana  stimulates the heart.  Kapalabhati is very much beneficial for various cardiac diseases.   Kapalabhati increases the oxygen absorption in the blood stream thereby nourishing the organs. 

There are some yoga asanas which bring stability in the posture and the mind of the individual.  Th yoga asanas help in increasing oxygen intake of the body.  Also the capacity of oxygen intake by the body is increased by yoga asanas.  Yoga asanas builds up physical strength, flexibility and stamina of the body.  Yoga also increases self control and concentration.    

Yoga asanas boost up immunity of the body.   Yoga can cure some of the medical problems like arthiritis, anemia, acidity, allergies, skin diseases, facial wrinkles, alzheimer disease, blood pressure, depression, obesity, stress and many more diseases.  So we can conclude that yoga not only cures common ailements but also chronic disorders which cannot be cured by most advanced medicines.

Lower your Blood Pressued by Yoga practice

High blood pressure is one of the most prevailing ailments in the world right now.  High blood pressure is affecting people of all ages now a days. There are many methods to reduce high blood prssure.  Many people are now opting to reduce high blood pressure naturally like herbs, exercises and diet.  Yoga is one of the best proven method to increase low blood pressure and reduce high blood pressure.



Do you know that your blood pressure can be lowered by practicing yoga asanas?  Yoga asanas help to lower your blood pressure and keep it stable.  Yoga asanas have favorable effect on the nervous system.   You can not only reduce the B.P. but also reduce the effects of hypertension on other parts of your body by practicing Yoga.  There are some yoga asanas to reduce blood pressure.  Some categories of asanas to reduce high blood pressure are forward bends, sitting, supine and inversion groups.

The forward bends have the best effect to reduce blood pressure.  The forward bending exercises have a calming effect on the brain and the blood circulation to the brain is normalized and they help to reduce the stress from sense organs.  So the brain, nervous system and the sense organs are relaxed and so the blood pressure will be normal and stabilizes.

The yoga asanas which are beneficial to nervous system are the Uttanasana and Adhomukha Savasana which are to be practiced with the head resting.  The Baddhakonasana and Virasana are some of the sitting yoga asanas which you can practice to lower your blood pressure.  These poses eliminate the tension from the ribs and the muscles so they help to breathe without any difficulty and lower blood pressure.

The other poses of asanas which help to reduce blood pressure are the supine poses like Supta Baddhakonasana which by relaxing the abdominal region calms the nerves.  The inversion asanas like Viparita Karanti and Halasana revitalize the nerves and lowers the blood pressure. 

Here are some of the yoga poses for hypertension.

• Sukhasana :   Sukhasana is one of the meditative poses and can be practiced after doing the corpse pose. The sukhasana helps in making the spine straight and slows down the metabolism and keeps your mind calm.
• Bidalasana ( Cat pose) : This pose is very ideal for loosening and stretching of the spine and hips.  This pose initiates movement from your center and to coordinate your movement and breath.  
• Anuloma viloma :  This is one of the breathing exercise.  It is also called as alternate nostril technique.  In this breathing technique, you inhale through one nostril, retain the breath, and exhale through the other nostril.  Repeat the same for other nostril.
• Shoulder stretches : The shoulder stretches are very good for relieving stress and tension in your shoulders and also in upper back.  You can practice shoulder stretches for several weeks and notice the changes.

 There are many more yoga poses to control blood pressure  like pavan mukhtasana and double leg raises etc.

Benefits of Yogic exercises

Harmony is called Yoga - "Samatvam Yoga uchyate" - says Bhagawadgita.   In spite of all scientific developments, man continues to suffer as before, from the begining of the recorded history.  This is all due to dishormany within himself and with the world outside.  Man is nothing but a part of nature.  And nature is constituted and governed by three gunas - Tamas, Rajas and Sattva.  These three gunas exist like three strands of a rope supporting each other. 

Our entire personality is nothing but a combination of Body, Prana and Mind.  All our troubles are due to disharmony among these three - Body, Prana and Mind.  It is this state of disharmony that puts man under the clutches of the three gunas.  A state of harmony frees him from their grip.  Yoga brings about this harmony.  Yoga prescribes Asana (postures),  Pranayama (regulation of breath) and Dhyana ( concentration and meditation).   Asana brings harmony in the body,  Pranayama brings harmony in Prana and Dhyana in the mind.  Now let us see some of the benefits of Yoga Asanas.

Benefits of Yoga Asanas 

Good health is the greatest  asset to all of us.  You can not expect success in any walk of life without good health.   In order to have a good health, there are lot of yoga exercises which move our muscles which results in rapid functioning of heart and lungs.  Some of yogic exercises develop the chest and arms only.

In yogic exercises, there is a harmonious development of all the muscles of our body, internal organs, nerves and the frame.  In yoga, the movements are gentle and rhythematic, hence there is no wastage of energy.    The three important organs i.e. heart, lungs and the brain are kept in a healthy condition by regular practice of few yoga asanas and one or two breathing exercises.  

If the muscles are not given proper exercise, they will try to contract and you can see stiffness and heaviness in your body.  Blood circulation and nerve force will be reduced.  This will disturb the organs.  Some of the yogic exercises concentrate on the development of the muscles along with development of other parts. 

The yogic exercises will prevent diseases attacking our body by maintaining natural health.  Some of the yogic exercises also cure existing diseases like cold, cough, constipation, high BP and gastric troubles.  

Some of the yoga asanas involve the forward and backward movements, others help lateral movement of the spine. some asanas clean the lungs, throat etc.  So the whole body is toned up and strengthened.  Your entire body becomes flexible thereby preventing stagnation of blood in any part of your body. The malfunctioning of Thyroid, Pituitary and Pineal glands is corrected by some of the yogic exercises.  In addition to this,  some of the exercises have great effect on the mind and memory.   The yogic asanas help to improve your health by regulating the functioning of the internal organs.  The regular practice of Yoga asanas brings good health, longevity, strength and vitality to the practitioner.  By practicing the Yoga asanas regularly with care and attention, the personality as a whole becomes pleasing and attractive. 

Some important instructions for Yoga Asanas

There are some 'dos'  and 'don'ts'  which should be adhered strictly in order to get maximum benefit from Yoga  and avoid harmful results.

 

• Generally yoga asanas should be practiced by young people above age of 12 years and not before 12 years of age.  The minimum age limit for certain asanas like Sirshasana and Sarvangasana is higher.
• Practice of Yoga Asanas for curing diseases should be done under supervision of an experienced instructor.
• The persons suffering from eye diseases, running ears and heart troubles should not practice yoga asanas.   But they can practice relaxation in Savasana which is beneficial to them
• You should get up early in the morning at 4 or 4.30 AM.  If you feel sleepy, practice standing postures and four to six surya namaskaras.  Then answer the calls of nature and wash your face.
• If you are not in the habit of answering natural calls in early morning,  then you can practice the asanas without answering the calls of nature. After finishing the yoga asanas, Pranayama and Meditation,  you can go to lavotary.
• Take bath in luke warm water or cold water according to your capacity.
• Spread a folded blanket on the floor and practice yoga asanas on the blanket.
• Please do not wear spectacles or loose ornaments when you perform yoga asanas.  They may get damaged and also cause injuries.
• Asanas should be performed on empty stomach in morning hours or at least 3 to 4 hours after food.  There should be half an hour gap after you perform asanas and before taking bath or heavy tiffin. 
• You can practice each asana for few seconds in beginning and gradually increase the duration of the time.  There should not be any jerks or rapid movements of the body.
• After the practice of asanas and pranayamam,  you must sit in a comfortable posture and practice meditation atleast for 10 to 30 minutes.
• If it is not possible to practice asanas in the morning,  you can do standing postures and surya namaskaras followed by savasana.  The remaining asanas and pranayama can be done in the evening times.
•  Before practicing Sirshasana and also pranayama,  see that your body and mind are calm, and un disturbed.  If you are tired or mentally disturbed then relax in savasana for 10 minutes and then start the practice.
• Asanas should be practiced in well ventilated room where there is clean air and free movement of fresh air.  The floor must be even.  In cold places, you can practice in closed rooms.  
• If you stop praacticing yoga asanas due to any reason, there is no need to worry.  You can again start practice after some time.
• Regularity is very important if you want to derive full benefits of yoga quickly.