GARUDASANA (EHGLE POSE)

The name comes from the Sanskrit words garuda meaning eagle, and asana meaning posture. In Hindu mythology Garuda is known as the king of birds. He transports the God Vishnu and is eager to help humanity fight against demons. It is just another tough yoga pose to execute since it requires a great deal of balancing. This is mainly all about standing and balancing that can guarantee improvement on your physical and mental health.

Procedure: - Stand straight with your feet together and with your arms on your sides. Open your palms. Cross your left arm to your right. Raise your right arm with your hand stretching towards the ceiling. Bring your palms together as close as possible, depending on your flexibility. Your fingers should be pointing upwards. Maintain the position of your arms. Slightly bend your knees without going over your toes.  Slowly lift your right leg, cross it to your left thigh as you curve your left foot around your right calf.  Inhale and hold it for 15 to 30 seconds before you exhale and return to tadasana. Repeat for the same length of time with the arms and legs reversed.

Benefits: It helps in strengthening your legs and improving major joints of your body. This helps you to enhance concentration and improves balance. It is good for ankles, calves, thighs, hips and shoulders. It helps to cure asthma, backache and sciatica.

Precautions: Avoid this if you have knee injuries.

Stroke survivors improve balance with group yoga

Yoga demonstrates to improvise balance but also helps for independence and falling fears

In a small pilot study, researchers analyzed the possible benefits of yoga among chronic stroke survivors – whose stroke had occurred more than six months prior.
This study involved 47 participants with around three-quarters of them being male veterans, were divided into three groups; twice weekly group yoga for eight weeks, a twice weekly “yoga-plus” group and used a relaxation recording three times a week and a usual medical care group without rehabilitation.
View slideshow: Yoga benefits

Teaching the yoga classes was a registered therapist that included modified yoga postures, relaxation and meditation, with classes growing more challenging each week.
Those who had completed yoga or “yoga-plus” had shown significant improvement in their balance in comparison to the usual medical group.
Researchers note balance problems frequently last long after a person suffers a stroke and are related to greater disability and higher risk of falls.
The study had also revealed that those survivors in the yoga groups had improved scores for independence, quality of life and less fear of falling.
Dr. Arlene Schmid, PhD, O.T.R., lead researcher and a rehabilitation research scientist at Roudebush Veterans Administration-Medical Center and Indiana University, Department of Occupational Therapy in Indianapolis, Indiana, stated in a public release "For chronic stroke patients, even if they remain disabled, natural recovery and acute rehabilitation therapy typically ends after six months, or maybe a year.” Dr. Schmid is also an assistant professor for occupational therapy at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis and an investigator at the Regenstrief Institute.
Improvements after the six-month window can take longer to occur, "but we know for a fact that the brain still can change. The problem is the healthcare system is not necessarily willing to pay for that change. The study demonstrated that with some assistance, even chronic stroke patients with significant paralysis on one side can manage to do modified yoga poses,” says Dr. Schmid.
Among the participants in the study, the oldest was 90’s and all participants had to be able to stand on their own on the studies outset.
According to researchers may be more therapeutic than traditional exercise due to the combination of postures, breathing and meditation may produce different effects than simple exercises.
Researchers can draw only limited conclusions from the study because of its small number of participants and lack of diversity. The study also didn't have enough participants to uncover differences between the yoga and control groups. The scientists hope to conduct a larger study soon.
Dr. Schmid did add "However, stroke patients looking for such help might have a hard time finding qualified yoga therapists to work with.” "Some occupational and physical therapists are integrating yoga into their practice, even though there's scant evidence at this point to support its effectiveness."
Researchers also noticed improvements in the mindset of patients about their disability. The participants talked about walking through a grocery store instead of using an assistive scooter, being able to take a shower and feeling inspired to visit friends.
In closing Dr. Schmid says "It has to do with the confidence of being more mobile," even though it took time to unfold "these were very meaningful changes in life for people."
Last year Dr. Schmid conducted a pilot study that involved 19 men and 1 woman with an average age of 66 years. For a period of eight weeks they took part in twice weekly hour long group yoga classes taught by a yoga therapist that had modified the poses dramatically to meet the needs of the veterans.
A range of balance items measured by the Berg Balance Scale and Fullerton Advance Balance Scale improved by 17 percent and 34 percent respectively by the end of the program. That study also revealed a measurable gain in confidence in their balance.
The yoga performed in the study was modified to the extent that Schmid said it would be very difficult to find a comparable class offered publicly. Such a class should be taught by a yoga therapist who has had additional training in anatomy and physiology and how to work with people with disabilities.
The study had been funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, QUERI.
Other studies on yoga have revealed that Hatha Yoga practice by older adults who had a fear of falling demonstrated at the end of the study a reduced fear of falling, increased lower body flexibility and a reduction in their leisure constraints.
A study out of Temple University Gait Study Center had revealed that a particular type of yoga helped improved balance and stability in women over the age of 65 years.
Dr. Jinsup Song, DMP, PhD, at the School of Podiatric Medicine and the College of Health Professions and at the School of Podiatric Medicine and the College of Health Professions along with associates and co-author Marian Garfinkel, Ed.D., a certified senior Iyengar Yoga instructor conducted the study.
Their study suggested that improving balance and stability through yoga could help reduce the risk of falling, as these are two areas that are often deficient when a fall occurs.
Garfinkel consulted her mentor, renowned yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar, to craft a specific yoga program of poses tailored to the elderly who have had little to no yoga experience. The use of props in the Iyengar program allows participants to gradually master the poses while building their confidence level.
In addition to improving balance and stability, Song notes that participation in a group setting, such as an Iyengar yoga class, could have positive psychological effects for the elderly, as well.
"Throughout the program, participants consistently noted that they had a better outlook on their day-to-day lives," he said. "The class gave them something to look forward to; they found it engaging, and said that if they couldn't attend a class, they definitely missed it."
To learn more about the benefits of yoga for the 50+ can be viewed online at the American Senior Fitness Association.

Debbie Nicholson is based in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America, and is an Anchor for Allvoices.

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Yoga, Ayurveda to control Stress and Sleep Disorder

Fatigue caused by sleep difficulties is now considered one of America’s top health problems. Medical researchers say lack of sleep can lead to health problems ranging from blood sugar issues to high stress levels. Studies show that people who sleep fewer than six hours a night don’t live as long as those who sleep seven hours or more. Sleeping only four hours a night can cause weight gain as well as difficulty maintaining healthy blood sugar and blood pressure levels. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that sleeplessness costs the U.S. economy $150 billion a year in higher levels of worker stress and reduced productivity.

Stress and Sleepless Nights: A Vicious Cycle

The incidence of sleep difficulties is on the rise in America. We are increasingly a 24/7 society, in which high stress levels and time pressures have become a part of normal modern living. Many people would gladly get more sleep if they could, but the information age, which was supposed to make everything more efficient, has only made everything busier.

Americans frequently find themselves too tense or worried to fall asleep at night because of stress accumulated throughout the day. This lack of sleep, in turn, creates even more stress on the job and at home, resulting in a vicious cycle. Many choose to short-change their sleep – sleeping less than six hours a night – making them highly vulnerable to sleep disorders, stress syndrome, and multiple health problems.

Millions are addicted to tranquilizers to reduce stress during the day, and sleeping pills to induce sleep at night. However, you can’t induce a natural state of sleep with products that are unnatural, synthetic, and, in many cases, highly addictive. It is recommended that patients who have difficulty sleeping restore a balanced rest/activity cycle by practicing the meditation, or other stress-reducing practices, to allow the body to deal with the stress of the day. The TM technique has been shown in a number of studies to reduce stress and sleep difficulties. Traditional Ayurvedic herbal formulations have also been shown to help. Ayurveda also offers diet and lifestyle recommendations to support normal healthy sleep and sleep patterns.

The Ayurvedic Approach

The goal of the Ayurvedic approach is to create more ojas – the finest product of digestion – which provides energy, enthusiasm, happiness, clarity of thinking, better coordination between the heart and mind, an experience of connection and better immunity. “Only the deepest, most restful sleep, called stage 4 sleep by researchers, creates ojas,” say Ayurvedic experts. Good-quality sleep provides deeper rest to the mind and senses, and enhances capacity for mental and physical work the next day. On the other hand, lack of sleep increases ama, or toxins, in the body.

Regardless of the cause of your sleep imbalance, Ayurvedic experts recommend that you try to be in bed before 10:00 at night. That’s because after 10:00, a more active, Pitta-quality sleep sets in. If you fall asleep before then, you’ll imbibe the slower, more restful Kapha qualities. Not only will you fall asleep more easily, but also the quality of your sleep will be deeper. Almost anyone can experience deep, restful sleep by doing just this one thing – going to bed before 10:00 at night.

Many of these recommendations are substantiated by research. Sleep researchers, for instance, have documented that a brief period of moderate exercise three to four hours before bed, such as taking a brisk walk after dinner, can really help deepen sleep. Other studies link physical fitness with improved sleep quality.

Creating a Timeless Bedroom

Create a timeless bedroom and keep time pressures away from your sleeping place. If you have to use an alarm clock, put it in a place where you can’t see it. Preserve your bedroom as a comfortable, relaxing haven – a place for warm, intimate and relaxing relationships. Keep heated discussions, intense brainstorming, television-watching, computer work, and monthly budgets out of your bedroom.

Especially avoid violent, suspenseful TV shows before bed. Instead, surround yourself with influences that cultivate your peace of mind while you fall asleep. Before bed, try diffusing lavender essential oil to relax and help induce sleep, sometimes within minutes.

To relax your neck and shoulders, your back and abdomen, you can do some simple, light yoga postures. Soothing music, bedtime prayers, and positive affirmations can also help you to move in the direction of being more peaceful.

If your mind is active, recall your fondest memories, particularly of childhood, where you had soothing, blissful, wonderful sleep, or when you had an amazingly restful vacation. Favor those thoughts instead of ones that cause you worry and anxiety.

What is your sleep I.Q.?

Even if you don’t have difficulty sleeping, you might not be getting enough sleep at night. In assessing your sleep health, you also need to look at how you feel during the day. If you answer “yes” to a majority of these questions, it might be a cue that your stress levels are too high, your life style needs adjustment, or you’re not sleeping enough.

• Do you experience mental or physical dullness?
• Do you have poor muscle tone?
• Do you experience a lack of spontaneity?
• Do you have a tendency to be bored or unhappy?
• Do you have tension, fear, or anxious feelings?
• Do you suffer from decreased cooperativeness, an inability to accept constructive criticism, irritability, temper outbursts, lowered attention span, impaired short-term memory, decreased sex drive, physical complaints such as headache or backache, or do you generally lack motivation?
• Are you addicted to coffee, cigarettes, stimulants, or alcohol or drugs?
• Have you noticed a reduction in general health and joy in living?

Related Health Tips

• Establish a stable regular lifestyle routine
• Get plenty of good-quality sleep.
• Partake in calming activities such as gardening and leisurely walks.
• Reduce travel and avoid stressful situations as much as possible.
• Give yourself an Ayurvedic oil massage daily.
• Protect yourself from dry, cold and windy weather.
• It is best to not read or watch TV while eating.
• Go to bed before 10:00 p.m.