Yoga Poses To Improve Your Eyesight

Mar 15, 2019 by author

 

When it comes to practicing yoga, your eyes are probably one of the last body parts that you would think of getting benefit from yoga. Yoga has significant benefits to our entire body, and some great helpful moves can help improve your sight, strengthen the overall health of your eyes; and these only require you to practice a few simple steps a couple of times a day for optimal results.

Your eyes are just like other muscles in your body and require proper care and the ability to stretch as well as relax. Often, we don’t even consider that we overuse our eyes and don’t allow them enough time to recover from their excess use.

 

\

 

A great time to practice these exercises is when your eyes are feeling fatigued because you have been looking at a screen for too long. The first few exercises require simple movements with your eyes alone.

 

• Side To Side

Inhale and look to the left with your eyes. As you exhale, draw a line with your eyes to the right side. Repeat this 10-20 times.

 

• Up And Down

Using a line much in the same way as the side to side movement, inhale and draw your eye gaze up and then exhale and bring your gaze down. Repeat 10-20 times.

 

• Sideways

Begin with your eyes looking straight ahead, then bring your gaze to the left bottom corners of your eyes. Once you are at this point, you can shift your eyes back and forth between the two corners of your eyes and repeat just as you did in the other exercises.

 

• Rotating Your Eyes

Following the pattern of a clock, rotate your eyes, so they first follow clockwise and then counter-clockwise. Repeat as desired.

 

• Gaze To Your Nose

Draw the gaze of your eyes down to the tip of your nose so that your vision goes out of focus. Let them rest here for a few seconds before refocussing them. Repeat a few times.

 

• Blinking Rapidly And Slowly

First, begin by blinking your eyes rapidly for about ten seconds. Then, close your eyes and keep them shut for another ten seconds. Repeat this process five more times and don’t forget to focus on your breathing.

 

• Extra Exercises

Cupping your hands over your eyes to give them rest is a great relaxing treat for your eyes. Begin by rubbing your hands together to warm them up, then cup your hands, one over each eye and hold them there for a minute or two. If you feel the need to repeat this task, warm them up again and hold for another minute.

 

You can also choose to complete these tasks with your eyes closed, but some may find this more difficult not having something to focus on. When you find that you have been staring at the same focal point for some time at the same distance, focus your eyes for a while at an object at a different distance to give your eyes some exercise.

You can also try what is called focus shifting, which can be done merely with the use of your thumb. You focus on your thumb and move it slowly closer to your face and then slowly away again.

Although these exercises offer great benefits to your eyes, they can also be completed to draw your attention inward and develop a keener sense of body awareness. The next time you find your eyes feeling unfocused, tired, and ready for a nap, try practicing some of these great yoga eye techniques to get yourself back to feeling at your best.

read more

How Can Essential Oils Benefit Your Yoga Practice?

Feb 9, 2019 by author

 

 

Natural health enthusiasts have been claiming that their essential oils collection has many health benefits. It can lower your stress, ease your digestion troubles, and even help wounds to heal faster. Science is now beginning to demonstrate that our bodies do readily absorb these oils and can use them in amazingly beneficial ways.

Yogis are frequently interested in these homeopathic remedies, a subtle nod to honoring the wonderful things the earth gives us naturally. However, many are now wondering just how essential oils may be used to benefit their overall yoga practice. If you’ve been wondering as well how you can incorporate essential oils into your daily yoga routine, here are a few steps that will get you started.

 

• Diffusing Essential Oils Creates A Better Atmosphere 

In order to focus, or promote relaxation, having an environment that is scented specifically to make your space feel more inviting, can help you move deeper into your yoga practice. An essential oil diffuser helps you to bring the scents and properties of your favorite oils into the very air that surrounds you.

Yogis should consider what their overall needs are during the practice. A blend of citrus essential oils such as orange or grapefruit can help yogis to maintain their focus and energy. A more calming blend of lavender or cinnamon oil can make your space feel warmer and more relaxed.

An atmosphere that’s tailored specifically to your home yoga practice can encourage you to move further into your study of the asanas and yogic philosophy.

 

• Applying Essential Oils Can Boost Your Energy

Do you have a difficult time making it to the very end of an intense yoga sequence? If you find yourself counting down the minutes until savasana, it may be time to apply a blend of essential oils directly to your body.

Some oils can be applied directly to the skin neatly or with the help of carrier oil to dilute them. Many different fragrances can be used to help increase your focus, including lemon, wild orange, or vetiver. Rub them on the underside of the big toe or directly onto the pulse points of the wrist for a powerful effect.

The scent of the essential oils may even cling to your workout clothing, bringing a better smell to your yoga leggings and workout shirts. You can carry this feeling with you throughout the day when you continue to wear your yoga leggings.

 

• They Can Help To Sanitize Your Space 

Every once in a while, your yoga mat probably needs to be wiped down and sanitized. Many yogis may be tempted to use commercial cleaners filled with harsh ingredients. Essential oils can help you to keep your yoga mat and space clean while still offering the same aromatherapy benefits that diffusing them provides.

Mix up a bottle of cleaning vinegar or water with a few drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil. These both have antimicrobial properties to kill bacteria and sanitize your mat. Spritz your yoga mat with this concoction and let sit for a few minutes. Wipe it clean with a damp rag or paper towel.

Working essential oils into a well-established yoga practice is merely a natural extension of taking your practice off of the mat. If you utilize these amazingly beneficial tools, you can deepen your workout with ease.

read more

The Benefits Top Company Executives Stand to Gain by Doing Yoga

Mar 20, 2018 by author

 

 

One of the key components of yoga is meditation. Various results from brain-imagery studies show that meditation has numerous benefits for the human brain. This is why meditation is attracting numerous CEOs and top managers. Considering that there are numerous other pastimes such as golf or massage, why would they choose meditation in yoga instead.

Helps in Stress Management

At one time, Alak Vasa, the founder of Elements Truffles faced a very tough situation at work. At the time, she was working for Goldman Sachs and ITG. By good chance, she had started meditation sessions. So, when everyone else was panicking, she was able to stay calm and offer a solution that helped everyone.

According to the 2010 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, yoga and meditation help reduce the impact of stressors in the body, thereby reducing the chance of suffering from chronic diseases. It is with this understanding that Jonathan Tag introduced meditation sessions to his staff immediately after 9/11. Jonathan, VASTRM Fashion founder and CEO, noted that everyone in the company was shaken by the terrorist attack. Since he had already learned the benefits of meditation in yoga, he invited a meditation facilitator to guide them through the sessions. Soon, most of the employees joined in. The session helped bring a sense of calm and eased their emotions.

 

Emotional Anchoring

Managing a large organization may be fulfilling, but it also comes with elevated levels of emotional turmoil. There is a myriad of responsibilities and a host of people who look up to the manager to give guidance. There are often steep goals to achieve and stringent deadlines to meet. Without a way of managing one’s emotions, the job can feel overwhelming.

In a study published in a 2012 publication of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, researchers found that those who participated in yoga were more calm, peaceful, and upbeat. This was in comparison to another group that was selected from the same environment.

 

Better Health

The one aspect that every CEO cannot do without is being in good health. With all the challenges that they face every day, having poor health can be a major detriment to the performance of an organization. Attending a class of yoga and participating in meditation can go a long way in reducing the amount of stress one handles in a day. Reducing the levels of stress in the body will help keep allergies, anxiety disorders, and all other stress related diseases at bay.

 

Boosting Emotional Intelligence

Business executives and top manager stand to gain a lot from anything that can help boost their intelligence. Management positions entail a lot of decision making and smart thinking. It is through such decisions that they are able to steer companies into success and profitability.

According to Dr. James Doty, a Stanford University School of Medicine Neurosurgeon, meditation has the capacity to cultivate emotional intelligence. This often happens when one is able to make rational decisions even when they are facing pressure from all directions. When the levels of stress are on the rise and people are emotional, a collected persona can help manage situations and lead others to do the right thing. This is what mediation teaches.

Not sure what you would gain from attending a yoga class? These are just a few examples that can help boost your position as a manager.

 

read more

Yoga Theory for Everyday Life

Jan 10, 2018 by author

You probably know by now that yoga is more than just putting your body into bendy and twisty poses. Your instructors may have told you some basic theory during class about how to be mindful in your day-to-day life but it can be hard to actually apply them. In this article you’re going to get clear guidance to bring yoga theory in to your everyday life. We’re going to work through three beginner friendly ways that you can start living and breathing yoga right now.

 

 

Yogic Breathing for Daily Life

There is a lot that you can learn from the yogic attention to breath. It is a great part of yoga that you can do everyday to ease your mind and tap into the present moment. You can be stuck in traffic, in line at the grocery store or even watering your garden. Take a few breaths to reconnect with yourself and bring yourself back into alignment with your body’s natural rhythm. Pay close attention to the in and out of your stomach as you breathe. Notice the quality, depth, and ease of your breath as you take each inhalation and exhalation.

 

 

One Pose at a Time

This second yogic theory that you can bring into your day-to-day life is to focus on just one thing at a time. In yoga, you put all of your attention into your current pose. Life can become so overwhelming if you are trying to stretch your focus to cover multiple things at a time. Pay attention to the task at hand and be fully alert and present. If you are putting away dishes then just focus on putting away dishes instead of stressing about how you need to go and answer emails next. Be here and be now. Each moment you are living and breathing is a moment that you deserve to be at peace.

In yoga, there is always a quick moment as you move from one pose to the next where you might think about the two poses at the same time. When you are in those kinds of moments in your regular daily life, just remember to flow and let it come naturally.

 

 

Build From the Ground Up

This might be new to you if you have never taken a class that was alignment-based or that broke down the poses thoroughly. When you stop to build up a pose carefully, you should always build from the ground up. Even when just standing present in tadasana, you begin with your feet and work your way all the way up your spine through the crown of your head. Bring this concept of grounding and building your way up consciously into your daily life. This is such a great yogic theory because it is applicable on multiple levels. Try it with clothing by building your wardrobe from the bottom up, these cotton hue leggings are great place to start. This theory is also great to try in relationships, projects, emotions and more!

So what do you think? Are you ready to bring some more yoga theory into your daily life? Be sure to try out all three but take your time and be gentle with yourself.

read more