Here we give you some more desktop yoga exercises for the back and also some breathing exercises you can do while at your desk.

(See also: Yoga and Health, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Including:

• Bikram Yoga - Intellectual property controversy
• Bikram Yoga - Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class

Read more here: » Bikram Yoga: Encyclopedia - Bikram Yoga

Bikram recently secured federal copyright registration under 17 U.S.C. Section 410 for his original work of authorship in his sequence of 26 postures (or asana) and 2 breathing exercises. Through registration of this work, the United States Copyright Office acknowledges Bikram's exclusive right to the distinct series of postures and breathing exercises comprising the sequence and Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class. This development is controversial within the United States yoga community. Some practitioners object to the idea that Bikram c ...

See also:

Bikram Yoga, Bikram Yoga - Intellectual property controversy, Bikram Yoga - Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class

Read more here: » Bikram Yoga: Encyclopedia II - Bikram Yoga - Intellectual property controversy

The sage Patanjali postulated an eight-fold system of spiritual yogic practice for achieving the divine goal. It comprises:

Yam (Controls) Niyam (Rules and regulations) Asan (Bodily Postures) Pranaayam (Breath Control Exercises) Pratyahaar (Sense control) Dharana (Concentration) Dhyaana (Meditation) Samadhi (Mergence)

(See also: Patanjali, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Our existence can be broadly divided into three categories - thinking, feeling and being conscious. The common link between all three is our attention. When we respond to something, physical or mental, consciously or unconsciously, we take our attention to the related part of the body. When we think, our attention is in the brain and when we carry out habitual activities, it is probably in the spinal cord.

(See also: Sudarshan Kriya, Faith and Belief, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

There are eight kinds of prayanams in Hatha yoga . However before doing these eight pranayams we need to do Narishodhan pranayama..

The most crucial thing is to learn doing pranayam in its correct method. This pranayama is best done early in the morning on an empty stomach or in the evening, after at least 4 5 hours after lunch.

Instructions and benefits for:

-       Narishodhan pranayama

(See also: Pranayama, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Instructions, benefis and cautions for:

-       Narishodhan Pranayam

-       Suryabhedi Pranayam

-       Ujjayi Pranayam

-       Shitali Pranayam

-       Sitkari pranayam

-       Bhastrika pranayam

-       Bhramari pranayam

(See also: Pranayama, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Meditation and Breath

Meditation is the practice of turning the attention from outer awareness to inner concentration. In the practice of Kundalini Maha Yoga, meditation is much more than a relaxation technique. It is a way of easing resistance to the ascent of the Kundalini energy by quieting the fluctuations of the mind. Of all the forms of meditation, meditation through attention on the breath is the simplest and most direct way to Self-realization.

Read more here: » Kundalini Maha Yoga: Meditation and Breath

The Principles of Yoga

In this article, the five principles of Yoga will be detailed. These are the foundations of Yoga Practice; Correct Relaxation, Proper Breathing, Good Exercise, Positive Thinking and Suitable Diet.

Read more here: » Yoga: The Principles of Yoga

Asthma is a disease that more and more people seem to be suffering from today. Many things trigger asthma - the main amongst those being: stress and anxiety, allergies and genetics. This yoga program seeks to tackle the root causes and work towards strengthening the immune system.

We will present asanas (postures), kriya (cleansing technique) and pranayama (breathing techniques) that strengthen, stretch and relax the body physically and re-balance internal systems at a deeper level. We begin with asanas that focus on increasing capacity of the lungs and relaxing the chest muscles which contract and remain tense during and after asthma attacks.

Instructions and benefits for

-       Singhasana

-       Ardha Chakrasana

-       Kapalbhati Kriya

-       Bhramri Pranayama

-       Bhastrika Pranayama

(See also: Yoga and Health, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Kriya Yoga: The Breath of God Is Our Breath of Life

Kriya Yoga gives extreme importance to the breath. It teaches that breath control is self control, breath mastery is self mastery, it is deathlessness. If you take a very short breath and seek God in the fontanel and the pituitary, you will attain calmness and God realization. The Bhagavad Gita, verse 5:27, mentions this short breath: "We are to fix our attention in the pituitary, take a very short breath and touch Him in the pituitary and in the fontanel." The breath must be so short that if you place your finger in front of your nose, the outgoing breath will not touch the finger.

Read more here: » Kriya Yoga: The Breath of God Is Our Breath of Life

Breathing Meditation: Radio Interview with Swami Prajnanananda Giri

This is a transcription of an interview with Swami Praj–anananda Giri for the "PhenomeNews" radio program in Detroit, USA, in December 1996.

Read more here: » Breathing Meditation: Radio Interview with Swami Prajnanananda Giri

As we exhale, not only do we throw out carbon dioxide from our system, but also mental and emotional impurities. Here, Swami Kriyananda speaks of a breathing technique that will help overcome negative moods

When a deliberate effort is made to absorb "prana" from the air that we breathe, then breathing can give us psycho-spiritual benefits as well. There is an intimate connection between the mind and the breath. When we are emotionally disturbed, the flow of energy in the body is also disturbed, and the effect on the breath is instantaneous: The breathing becomes erratic and rapid.

(See also: Meditation Techniques, Meditation, Meditation for Beginners, Meditation Techniques)

Breath, sound and meditation are the main resources of kundalini yoga. For example, a school of Kundalini yoga is probably best recognised for its frequent use of 'Breath of Fire' and the mantra 'Sat Nam'. Breath of Fire is a breathing exercise where you inhale and exhale rapidly through the nose without pausing, and pump the navel point while using the abdomen as a bellows. Sat Nam means 'truth is my identity' and, as a chant, is used to stop mind chatter by creating a rhythm that produces higher consciousness.

Read more here: » Yoga: Kundalini Yoga - Techniques and Pitfalls

The increasing power of inhalation or exhalation is associated with the strengthening of upward or downward currents of energy in the spine.

The balance of these two currents results in a state of mental poise, and in a deepening inner awareness. When the two currents are perfectly balanced, even the movement of physical breathing is stopped. Only in breathlessness is one able completely to concentrate the mind.

The practice of kumbhak, or forcible retention of breath, is done for brief periods in order to focus one's mind on a particular thought or state of consciousness.

(See also: Breathing exercises, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Pranayam term is formed of joining two words- pran and ayam. It means strengthening and expanding the life force. Pran is the life energy or force, which empowers all the work of mind, body and senses. Without pran, our body is dead.

Ayam means expanding or strengthening this pran. It is essential for keeping our body and mind healthy and powerful. Pranayam is important for protecting us from diseases, sickness.

It is very important to understand the methods of pranayam before actually practicing it.

(See also: Pranayama, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Hatha Yoga deals with physical body and astral body purification and training. Its goal is to bring the physical body into a perfect state of health so the soul has an appropriate vehicle of expression to work through.

Hatha Yoga embraces many practices, including physical postures and breathing exercises ( pranayama ) , which also act upon the physical nervous system and etheric body. It helps bring the vital energies of the physical and etheric bodies under conscious control.

(See also: Yoga Systems, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

To suit the different constitutions, temperament and purpose, in Pranayama there are many varieties of exercises, viz., deep breathing exercise, Sukha Purvaka (easy comfortable) Pranayama during walking, Pranayama during meditation, Rhythmical breathing, Suryabheda, Ujjayi, Sitkari, Sitali, Bhastrika, Bhramari, Murchha, Plavini, Kevala Kumbhaka, etc. Of all the above exercises only the last eight are described in the Hatha Yogic texts.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Pranayama: Breathing Exercices - Pranayama

Pregnancy is a total experience. It is a time in a woman's life when it is of prime importance that the various dimensions of her being are in harmony. The regular practice of certain yoga exercises, meditation and breathing techniques ensures optimum health of her body and mind, and the unification of her physical, emotional and spiritual growth with that of the developing child.

Read more here: » Yoga: Yoga And Pregnancy

 The word "yoga" often brings to mind a classroom of students attired in exercise clothing attempting to stretch their bodies into different postures. A more traditional yoga class will even include instruction in breathing techniques, concentration, meditation, and positive thinking. In the media today, yoga is often associated with health benefits such as stress reduction, lower blood pressure, and an overall decrease in illness and hospitalization rates. This is the Western idea of yoga. If we look to the Eastern approach, where yoga is a part of the great Hindu and Buddhist traditions, we find that yoga is all of these things but much, much more as well.

Read more here: » Yoga: Serve, Love, Meditate, Realize - The Inner Teachings of Yoga