This blog is for Yoga related articles and posted by members of the yogabharati yoga-group in SanDiego.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Yoga for GastroIntestinal Disorder:
The IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) includes Diarrhea, Constipation, Gas, Bloating etc

Gas is formed by air that we swallow with our food and also due to regular digestion of the food.
If our body cant digest some of the food (Complex sugars etc), they are sent directly to the colon. Where the intestinal bacteria tries to disintegrate then into various gases, which causes the GAS/Bloating/Diarrhea/Constipation problems.
To avoid this try eating food/drinks in a slow pace. Try avoiding carbonated drinks, smoking.

If you have heartburn (the acid from the stomach, when seeps to the esophagus (Im not sure about the spelling), it gives the burning sensation, which puts the 'burn' in heartburn). Our stomach linings are hard enough to withstand this acid, but esophagus is not. If your stomach lining is corroded, then that is called ulcer. Try avoid very acidic food and try to have Carbohydrates in your diet (Yes! Carb!). Dont totally avoid them (If you have Heartburn issues)
Dont just rely on Protein and 'hot n spicy' foods.
Yoga will compress and stretch the gut muscles, which will help preventing the Gas/Bloating and other GI issues. Below are the list of asanas suggested to get relief from each problem.

Constipation: Dhanurasana (bow pose), Savasana (Corpse pose), Matsyasana (Fish pose), Pavana MUktasana, Forward/Backward bends, Seated fwd bend

Diarrhea: Spinal Twists, Triangle, Seated Forward Bend

Gas: Wind Relieving Posture, Vipareeta Karani (Gentle inversin poses)

Bloating:Gentle Inversion Poses, Wind Relieving Posture, Seated Wide Angle Pose

Indigestion: Corpse Pose, Mountain, Locust, Seated Forward Bend, Cobra or Upward Facing Dog, Forward and Backward Bends

Overall GI Function: Spinal twists, Triangle, Bow, Cobra or Upward Facing Dog, Forward Bend, Camel

In general do any pose, which can stretch your stomach (Dont forget to do the complimentary pose for each of them). Try figuring out, which food causes you these problems and avoid them.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Yoga for mitigating migraine:
Symptoms and causes:
Migraine is caused by the dilation of blood vessels on one side of the brain. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head. Other typical migraine symptoms include headaches, muscular tension in the head, neck and shoulder due to the congestion of blood vessels that supply blood to the brain and muscles. Several factors are known to trigger migraine.
1)Tyramine is a chemical known to trigger migraine. This can be found in certain food items like beer, wine, aged-cheese, yeast, coffee, banana, eggs, orange, spinach, and tomatoes. Also, aginomoto aka MSG may also trigger symptoms of migraine. (Read the labels of food you buy)
2)Fatigue, sleep deprivation, Bright light
4)Certain infections
5)Menstruation
6)Stress
7)Poor posture
8)Drug or other food allergies, low blood sugar
9)Eye strain
10)Head injury
Try to find out what causes or triggers your migraine and avoid that.

Suggested yoga exercises:
After a brief warm up the following exercises are recommended: For the details of the asanas, please refer to the notes sent by the instructor:

For warm up:
Kapalabati
Balasana (child pose) breathing
Single leg raise
Double leg raise
Perform 5-6 rounds of Surya-namaskar

Core yogasanas
Tree pose (Vrikshasana)
Triangle pose (Trikonasana)Cobra pose
Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)

Wind releasing pose(Pavana mukhtasana)
Inverted pose (Vipareeta karani)
Half-waist wheel pose (Artha- kati chakrasana )
Forward and backward bend
Yoga mudra (Padmasana fwd bend)


Relaxation:
DRT
Pranayama