## Padahastasana.

__Position__

Distance your legs hip-width apart.

__Step 1:__ Inhale and slowly raise your arms upwards. Stretch your body upwards as well.

__Step 2:__ Exhale and slowly bend the trunk forward from your hips till your hands reach your feet. Next, place the palms of your hands under the soles.

__Step 3:__ Inhale head up extend your spine forward by keeping your palm under the feet.

__Step 4:__ Exhale complete forward bend to touch your head to the knee.

(Elbows remain slightly bent pointing outwards. Loosen up the shoulders and let the arms relax. Take a few slow breaths. Your knees must remain straight. The back ought to be concave not hunched. Bring the forehead between the knees if possible. Relax the back muscles of your neck. Take long and deep breaths. Relax the body. Stay in this position for as long as you feel comfortable.)

__Step 5:__ Release palms down from foot and inhale slowly come up.

Practice the pose 3 times for 5 breaths gradually increasing the time day by day as your flexibility increases.

## Baddha Konasana

__Position__

Sit straight on the floor with an erect spine and straight legs.

__Step 1:__ Bend your knees by bringing feet as close as possible.

__Step 2:__ Hold your feet tightly with your hands. Inhale deeply.

Keep breathing normally and start flapping like a butterfly by bringing thighs up and down slowly.

## Bridge Pose

__Position__

Lying on your back, bend both knees and place the feet flat on the floor hip-width apart. Keep knee and ankle in one line. Press the feet into the floor,

__Step 1:__ Inhale and lift the hips up, rolling the spine off the floor. …

Press down into the arms and shoulders to lift the chest up. …

Breathe and hold for 4-8 breaths.

__Step 2:__ To release: exhale and slowly roll the spine back to the floor.

## Extended Hand-To-Big-Toe Pose.

__Position__

Stand in Tadasana, bring your left knee toward your belly. Reach your left arm inside the thigh and hold the big toe or outside of your left foot. Firm the front thigh muscles of the standing leg, and press the outer thigh inward.

__Step 1:__ Inhale and extend the left leg forward. Straighten the knee as much as possible. If you’re steady, swing the leg out to the side. Breathe steadily; breathing takes concentration, but it helps you balance.

__Step 2:__ Hold for 30 seconds, then swing the leg back to the centre with an inhale, and lower the foot to the floor with an exhale. Repeat on the other side for the same length of time.

## Extended Triangle Pose.*

__Position__

Standing at the top of your mat with your feet hip-distance apart and your arms at your sides. Begin to pay attention to your breath. Let go of distractions. Breathe softly and fully. Take a moment to tune into your body and draw your awareness inward.

– Step your feet wide apart, about 4 to 5 feet. Check to ensure that your heels are aligned with each other.

– Turn your right foot out 90 degrees so your toes are pointing to the top of the mat. The centre of your right knee cap should be aligned with the centre of your right ankle.

– Pivot your left foot slightly inwards. Your back toes should be at a 45-degree angle.

– Lift through the arches of your feet, while rooting down through your ankles.

__Step 1:__ Inhale raise your arms to the side to shoulder height, so they’re parallel to the floor. Your arms should be aligned directly over your legs. With your palms facing down, reach actively from fingertip to fingertip.

__Step 2:__ Exhale, reach through your right hand in the same direction as your right foot is pointed. Shift your left hip back so your tailbone and pelvis tilt toward the wall or space behind your left foot. Fold at your right hip. Keep your right ear, shoulder, and knee on the same plane — do not let your torso drop forward. Turn your left palm forward, with your fingertips reaching toward the sky.

– Rest your right hand on your outer shin or ankle. If you are more flexible, place your right fingertips or palm on the floor to the outside of your right shin. You can also place your hand on a block. Align your shoulders so your left shoulder is directly above your right shoulder.

– Gently turn your head to gaze at your right thumb.

– Drawdown through the outer edge of your back foot. Extend equally through both sides of your waist. Lengthen your tailbone toward your back heel. Keep your left arm in line with your shoulders.

– Hold for up to one minute.

__Step 3:__ To release, inhale and press firmly through your left heel as you lift your torso. Lower your arms. Turn to the left, reversing the position of your feet.

Repeat for the same length of time on the opposite side.

__*Note*__ Avoid practising this yoga if you suffer from migraines. A person who is detected with diarrhoea, high blood pressure, neck & back injuries, shouldn’t perform this asana.

Do you know? Fats are the most concentrated form of energy and one of The important component of our diet.The dietary fats that we consume may be saturated, unsaturated or trans fats. Saturated and trans fats are the most harmful type of fats, as they get deposited in the body causing various ailments including heart attack and cancer. Unsaturated fats are both monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated. Both of these are needed for proper functioning of our body.

Calories

Calories are a measure of energy. Caloric intake is great importance for your health. Calories in food needed to sustain life. Excess and not enough caloric intake are not good for your health. Eating too much and less movement of body cause obesity. You can reduce the body weight by decreasing calorie intake and increasing activity level.

Daily caloric intake can be calculated and is influenced by various factors, including gender, height, weight, activity level, and age. Children, for example, have different caloric needs than adults, and specific age groups of children have different caloric needs. On average, a woman should eat 2000 calories per day to maintain her weight, and she should limit her caloric intake to 1500 or less in order to lose one pound per week. For the average male to maintain his body weight, he should eat 2500 calories per day, or 2000 a day if he wants to lose one pound per week.

Yoga for weight loss

Overweight leads to several complications and risk factors for many diseases. Practice of Yoga with diet care for few months, 1 hr everyday in morning helpful in decrease in body weight.

In Yoga we practice asanas not only for burning extra calories, but also to develop body awareness to understand the language of our body the way it works and what suits it best. From this understanding we can modify or adjust our diet and lifestyle to suit the needs of our body and mind. Even though Yoga practice not just reduce weight but also helps to increase self-awareness.

Surya Namaskar (salutation to the sun )is most important for the treatment of obesity. Surya Namaskar is a complete practice itself because it is a combination of asana, pranayama, mantra and Meditation. This practice has a unique influence on the endocrine and nervous system helping to correct metabolic imbalance that cause over weight.

The practice of Pawanamuktasana.series II for the digestive system which help to remove extra fat from the abdomen hips and thighs and activate the energy in the lower pranic centers. These practices are very good for strengthening the abdominal muscles and helps to burn the extra fat tissue.

The practices of the shakthi bandha series are also very effective in reducing weight Kriyas like jaladhauti, shankha Prakshalana etc. and asanas like druta halasana, paschimottansana, navkasana dhaurasana, matsyasana, padhastasana, dandasana (plank) massage the abdominal organ and reduce extra fat.

The pranayama practices recommended for weight loss are also the more dynamic forms which stimulate the metabolism they include bhastrika, kapalabhati and suryabhedi which are performed along with balancing practices like nadi shodhan, ujjayi, sheetali and sheetkari are relaxing cooling practices which influence different hypothalamic centers and give control over thirst and the feeling of satisfaction with healthy quantities and qualities of food satisfaction.

Over weight is a lifestyle disorder. It decreases the auto lmmune system of human body and produce lot of complication in life. But yogic life style, specific asanas, pranayamas will stimulate auto human system of body as a result of that reduce the complication of obesity. Make yoga practice part of your life style to stay fit and healthy.

Can men practice yoga? First of all, you don’t have to be men or women for practicing yoga. Yoga is a balancing of the mind and body. A Practice itself designed by men for everyone. Patanjali has designed Ashtanga yoga. There are eight limbs in Ashtanga yoga in that Asana and pranayama is most popular. We need to understand the philosophy of Patanjali yoga sutra. Yoga incorporates the both gender aspect in form of yin and yang. Here Yang is the masculine and yin is the feminine energy for harmony and balance in life. In this new generation an ample amount of men showing interest in taking part of yoga practice.

Men Vs Yoga

Let’s be clear, Yoga for men doesn’t mean yoga make you feminine. It helps to make you strong and durable. Yoga helps you to become a better version of yourself. It teaches you art of living and how to balance life in all the favourable and unfavorable situations.

In addition to Yoga for men, men athletes and celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Sikhar Dhawan, Akshay Kumar practices yoga to keep them safe from injury and get fit in life.

Yoga increases your range of motion and flexibility, while enhances overall fitness. Yoga for men helps to be more productive at work, beat stress, you will sleep better and your sex life improves. Yoga also helps men to improve physical posture, improve overall muscles endurance and blood circulation in body. Men can create a wonderful atmosphere by practicing yoga as it reduces anxiety and improve the life energy that helps to keep you active throughout the day.

Yoga Complement men life

Improve Performance in gym and sports: The muscles align and works together in movements during the workout, yoga helps to feel those muscles movement ie contractions, expension and relaxation. It helps to push your limits in certain exercises with better understanding of posture alignment and flexibility. Yoga for men is good for session recovery in sports and gym as well and improve the joint mobility and helps to feel much smoother with joints and muscles to give better performance in sports and workouts.

Improve and balance the life energy: Yoga practices involves various techniques to control the physical body and mind. Unification of the masculine and feminine energies is possible through these practices. The balance of masculine and feminine energies is the ultimate goal of practice. These two energy can be represented by the two main nadis called Ida and Pingla that reside in the base of the spine in the muladhar. Activation and balance of these two nadies helps to feel being grounded and confident in daily life.

Yogic practices for men to improve life.

Asana to improve flexibility:

Uttanasana

Bhujangasana

Anahatasana

Dhanurasana

Baddhakonasana

Asana to improve strength

Utkatasana

Veerbhadrasana

Chaturanga dandasana

Navkasana

Asana and mudra for healthy reproductive system

Vipritkarni

Shirshasana

Shiddhasana

Ashwini mudra

Pranayama for de- stress and relax

Nadisodhana

Ujjayi

Bharamari

Yoga can also be use as a tool for men to relax deeply and re-energies your body and mind after working hard in your daily life. When you make yoga part of life it helps us find peace within ourselves.

—- Subham Sri

Do you sleep well at night? If you do, you are one of the lucky few. An average of 93% of Indians are sleep deprived of which only 2% are ready to discuss it.  Studies suggest that around 1 in 3 people suffer from at least mild insomnia. Insomniacs report difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, being unable to sleep for long durations and waking up feeling tired and unrested. Foreseeably, the biggest cause of Insomnia is Mental stress, anxiety, depression etc

Sleeplessness is addressed from various standpoints. It can be associated with many diseases and illnesses. What many fail to understand is that insomnia is not a part of the issue but a mere side-effect, caused by the stress of ill health. Sleeping medications address the effects of stress, altering brain chemistry allowing you to sleep, but the gap between the stressor and the solution is not effectively addressed.

The emphasis upon this is stronger because people from this generation are increasingly dependent on sleeping medication (each with its own, long-term side effects), failing to recognize the perfect alternative which helps them drift to blissful sleep – Yoga.

Yoga to balance sleeping hormones

Yoga has shown to remarkably reduce Cortisol, the primary stress hormone. Literally, driving your stress away. Lowered levels of cortisol means, you are able to relax and get those precious hours of shut-eye.

Yogic Practices, asana and pranayama stimulate pineal gland and hypothalamus, increase melatonin, the hormone secreted by pineal gland and promote sound sleep. Meditation and mantra chanting refreshes and calms the mind. Yog nidra  is effective in reducing anxiety and stress and induce restful sleep.

Asana to improve sleep

Yoga postures are helpful to restore the body energy and balance. Allowing asanas to hold longer time than usual holding time. It relives stress and reduce muscle tension and promote sound sleep.

Balasana

Releases tension from hip and back. Gently stretches spine, hip, thighs and ankle. Calms the mind.

Uttanasana

Relieves mental fatigue, mild depression and insomnia.

Viprit Karni

Relieves tension from leg, balances hormones and emotions.

Setubandha Asana

Helpful in back and hip pain, calms the brain and central nervous system.

Supta Baddha Konasana

Relaxes and calms the mind, relieves chest congestions and tension from bback

• Yoga practice regulates routine. This automatically regulates sleeping times, patterns and any other habits which are detrimental to the sleep flow. A consistent person, who sticks to his lifestyle routine, in turn, is a happy sleeper, as his biological clock works on time.
• Restorative poses, relax the body and stretch the muscles, replenishing the organs and providing the brain with lots of oxygen. Sleep provides you with these exact same benefits. What can we say, its a master trickery of the Brain.
• Yoga, helps you balance your day and night, allowing the ‘fight or flight’ response which is enhanced by the day’s activity to rest at night. Ending that tiring day with a satisfying sleep is always a need.
• Yoga helps you put things into perspective, the matter which was causing you stress, seems trivial and even freeing compared to this magnanimous existence, increasing feelings of gratitude and satisfaction. A happy person sleeps a blissful sleep.

Cultivate a healthy lifestyle with your regular yoga practice. Yoga is the most effective ‘alternative medicine’ prescribed throughout the world. The better sleep bandwagon arrived centuries ago in the form of this practice. Read to know how these asanas will help you sleep better!