Yoga --- pranayama and asanas

[Teen Girl]

Hello everyone :)
I'm new to this site... looks really fun and interesting. I hope to make tons of raw friends here :) My name's Liana, I live in Canada.

Anyway, about my thread, for years I've been doing asanas and now I'm interested in trying pranayama. I wanted to ask you guys if you feel that when you're raw focusing in pranayama is easier?

Personally, I find that most exercises are a bit harder for me since I've become raw (I feel a sort of physical weakness) and I thought that because pranayama is not so physical, it would be interesting for me to try it out ( I know it takes a whole lifetime to master but I think I should give it a try).

What do you guys think? Your advice would be appreciated. Some more info on pranayama will be helpful as well. (I'm currently reading a book about it)

[rawjojo]

Hi Liana,
I am a yoga instructor and have been practicing yoga for quite some time. Therefore I am surprised to hear that you are having a harder time (physically) with your asanas. Typically, it becomes much easier when your diet changes for the better. Are you getting enough to eat so that your enery is not depleated?

Anyhow, I am glad to hear someone so young is practicing yoga and is interested especially in pranayama. Just learning how to breath has helped my life dramatically. It's no surprise that our bodies get as sick as they do just form a lask of oxygen and relaxation. Let me know if you need any other help with this.
Have a great day!
rawjojo

[Teen Girl]

I think I feel weak because my body is getting rid of toxins... hopefully it will end soon. I'm thinking of doing a juice fast... but I was never good at fasting ;)

[rawjojo]

Yeah, fasting is hard for me as well. Even though I know how great the benefits I sometimes lack the willpower needed. I am sure it will help you through your detox though. I am trying to do teh master cleanse right now and it's tough. However, it is working! Try to get a lot of rest while you are detoxing and when you get through it you will probably feel magnificent! Have a wonerful day!
rawjojo

[rawjojo]

Hi Setta,

I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the benefits of yoga. I would love to help by answering some of you questions.

1. Breathing is definitely the key! Isn't it amazing how it can calm you almost instantly. Learning how to breathe properly has dramatically changed my life. I am a much calmer person. I suggest that you find a really good teacher who deals a lot with pranayama or even teach yourself a few different breathing techniques from different books and videos that they now have available. Most people think of yoga as the asanas or postures or just stretching but first and foremost it is the breathing and centering that is most important because without the breath your body would not be able to relax deeper into postures and you would not be able to achieve balance in your postures or in your body and life.

2. I have been doing yoga for quite some time and even with my experience and flexibility I still use props for certain poses. I see so many people doing poses improperly just because thier egos get in the way. I think thay they feel that props make it easier or they are not as good because they use them when in reality they help you so much with allignment. I have made it a point to introduce props in my classes right off the bat because then people are used to them and know properly how to use them and also they get to see the benefits they obtain just by making sure thier alignment is correct. In my classes we use straps, blocks (bricks), pillows, blankets, walls and sometimes chairs. I am so happy to hear that you are getting started using these items because down the road you practice is going to really benefit you and your body is going to be so much better because of it.



3. I am not sure what kind of exercising that you do or what kind of lifestyle that you have (work schedule, family, etc.) but here is what I typically do:
I have to wake early in the a.m. because of my job so usually first thing I begin with a gentle yoga practice and a short meditation. I then try to take two walks during the day and then during the week I try to meditate for longer periods a couple of times. I do teach or take classes a couple of nights a week so sometimes on those days I allow myself to sleep in a little longer. (I really need to work on disipline). I do try to get to bed as early as possible because I feel that you get better sleep and body rest before midnight. A couple of times a week before I go to bed I will listen to a Yoga Nidra CD. I generally don't do too much exercising or activity for the couple of hours before bed because I feel that it promotes better sleep. When I do listen to a yoga nidra cd I really don't need to get as much rest during the night. They say that 45 min. of Yoga Nidra is = to 4 hours of good sleep.
I love that!

So, Setta, to overall answer you question; YES, you body will difinitely "physiologically" benefit from yoga (especially with props). Of course, keep in mind that your goal, for however many months or years down the road, is to depend more on your own muscles and bones. BUT for me I believe I will always use some sort of prop just because there are a few asanas that I believe I benefit from more just by using a block or strap.

Keep up the good work, you should be really pround of your self that you are taking a real interest in your physical and emotional health. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Also, I almost forgot to add that since I began raw foods my practice has become so much more intense. You will probably find that to be true also.

Namaste,
Rawjojo

[rawjojo]

You are so welcome Setta!

I am glad I got the chance to talk with you. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Have a wonderful Holiday week!
rawjojo

[krysnted]

Rawjojo, what is a yoga nidra cd, and where do you get one? I could sure use a better nights sleep! I appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

krys

[rawjojo]

Hi Krys,

Yoga nidra is a relaxation (a type of meditation). There are only a couple of books available on this topic but there are many cd's. I will pm you and give you the one that I personally like. The cd's will guide you through a (usually)61 point guided awareness and therefore causing you to relax. It it wonderful, I guarantee you will love it! Talk to you soon!
rawjojo

[sweetgoddess]

Hi ya and pleassse could you tell me where to get one of these cd's and the title? I would greatly appreciate it-- thank you kindly.

Barakah Bashad

[rawjojo]

Hi Sweetgoddess, (love your name)

I mostly use a couple of local teachers Nidra cd's but i am going to find out from them if it would be okay to publish thier phone numbers on here so that they may send one to you. Also, I have a couple that I go from Amazon and they were pretty good too. Like I said, I mostly use the locals. I like them better. Go check out the amazon ones in the mean time and as soon as I get the okay I will get you the phone numbers.

Have a great one!
rawjojo

[sweetgoddess]

I will go check out Amazon--sounds intruiging!
I wonder if you could explain something to me. I have a number of yoga tapes I do--most by Sara Ivanhoe. I keep running across mention of astanga yoga, and sometimes spelled ashtanga yoga. Are these the same ??
Confusing. Do you know much about astanga yoga?
Thank you ever so much for sharing your knowledge! :)
Brightest Blessings to you~

[rawjojo]

Hi Sweetgoddess,

Yes, for some reason or another, just like most things brought from the east to the west the word "ashtanga" is often confused and more often misspelled.
Ashtanga yoga can be explained simply by saying that it uses the breath to continually flow from one posture to the next creating a strong internal heat and there for causing internal purification. However, just in case you are interested I am going to PM you an article on the history of ashtanga. Hope you like it. I would post it here but I don't wan tot take up too much space. Let me know what you think!
rawjojo

P.S. I hope to be able to relase the # of the local nidras by tonight.

[sweetgoddess]

Here I was thinking they were 2 different branches of yoga! Thanks for clearing that up for me and working on the phone number.
Off to finish reading your yoga info --thanks a bunch!
Baraka Bashad~

[MaxMarie]

You might like this one SG:

http://www.swamij.com/cd-yoga-nidra.htm

When you "hit it" just right (pardon my lack of a better term) you can have these wonderful "connection" experiences. What some folks call the God experience. Some folks call the Universal connection experience.

Scientists have been studying it. Neurotheology. About 3 or 4 years ago there was an excellent article in Newsweek.

LOVE it!!

[krysnted]

Rawjojo,
Thanks for trying so hard to pass the information on! I am looking forward to listening to the CDs. I will check out amazon in the mean time. I don't get to the computer except for a couple of times a week, so I get a little behind. Have a blessed day!
Krys

[rawjojo]

Krys,
Did you get the PM's that I sent to you with the info about ordering nidra cds?

[krysnted]

Rawjojo,

I did not get the PM you sent. I checked the PM section, it said no PMs, but I am sort of new to this message board thing. I did go looking on amazon, and I got the one yoga nidra cd for the time being! I am so excited to try it. I could sure use the sleep! Can I ask you another question, are the videos of yoga really any good? Both my husband and I are college students, with a kid in college and one about to be. I have a couple of videos, but I was wondering if it was really worth it since you do not have someone there to monitor your posture/positions? Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge!

krystal

[rawjojo]

There are some good ones if you are well disaplined and would like to get some extra practice at home but if you are somewhat unexperienced then I would definitely take at least one class per week at studio with a qualified teacher so that she can help you with your asanas. The other bad thing about videos is that you are constantly looking up to view the screen to see what the heck you are supposed to be doing. In my opinion it's not great for the neck or for you postures and it's definitely not relaxing. However, if you know most of the yoga "lingo" then you should be okay!

[krysnted]

I just want to say that I finally recieved my CD about two weeks ago. I was so excited! I have never meditated before, and have a hard time breathing usually. I listened to it the first night, and was asleep within 20 minutes of the CD begining. I have listened to it a couple of times, each time it gets easier for me to use. I have noticed that the next day I do not have such a hard time breathing. My husband is having a hard time with it, he is used to music and concentrates so much on what the guy is saying that he stays awake. I don't know if he needs to keep listening to it for practice, or what. He is a retired military man, and is not sure about all this meditation and yoga stuff I am exposing him too. Rawjojo, Thanks so much for letting me know about this, for it is helping me not just with sleep, but with my meditation practice too. Maybe it will help me get back on track with the raw foods too! :)
Krystal

[SamL]

I ordered the CD too, I can't wait till it arrives.

I've only been interested in Yoga for the past 6 months, I've found it difficult in the rural country town where I live to find a class, so I rely on videos.

Is there a good video recommendation that would suit me as a beginner? I do really well motivating myself when I'm passionate about something.. since I've remained interested in yoga, the video I have doesn't seem to spark that passion and I really want my life to benefit from yoga as a whole.
The video I have is Erich Schiffmann 'beginning yoga'

I've really appreciated your experience and generosity with information rawjojo, it's taught me a lot. I really want for myself but also to bring a calm, relaxed RAW baby into the world.

[rawjojo]

Krysnted - I am so happy that you have found some relief using Yoga Nidra! What a great thing to hear! I will say one thing about your husbands having a problem relaxing::::: This same situation has happened in the past with two people I know who were also military personnel. I, personally, believe that in thier line of work they are so used to having to listen to the orders being called out to them so that they are always doing the right thing that in other circumstances it is hard for them to let go and relax. I hope this is making sense. Have your husband stick with it for a while and see if it gets any better. ALSO, try using a regular guided meditation cd and see if that is any easier for him. They are usually a little more general and maybe he wouldn't feel as though he would have to follow along so much. Do you have any guided Meditations? Let me know how this works out!

SamL - First Off, Congrats! I really applaud you for taking such good care of yourself during your pregnancy! There are some great prenantal vidoes out there and you should experiment with some of them to find one that you really like and then build some of your own personalized practices from those. Rainbeau Mars has a great one.