There are thousands of internet think-pieces about self-care floating around these days. They encourage us to take time for ourselves, relax, release stress, and reflect on our thoughts and feelings. These are all principles of meditation, and yet many of us still ask ourselves whether meditation actually works. Does all that sitting around and focusing the mind actually achieve anything?

The answer is a solid and scientifically proven yes!

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. As far back as 1500 BCE in India, people have been taking part in meditation. There are many different forms of meditation – sitting meditations, chanting, and modern mindfulness meditation, for example. At its core, though, meditation is a mental exercise which seeks to neutralize thoughts and focus on the present moment to bring about a sort of thoughtless awareness. It has several key benefits, namely helping to reduce stress, manage emotions, improve attention, and alleviate chronic pain. Let’s take a closer look at the evidence:

Meditation reduces your stress levels

Meditation encourages you to pay attention to the present moment in a non-judgemental manner. This helps to ease the stresses and strains of daily life, and it’s no surprise that meditation reduces stress levels as a result. Many scientific studies have shown these stress-reducing effects of meditation. A study of patients with anxiety disorders found that regular mindfulness meditation helped to reduce anxiety and depression levels. Other studies have found that overall stress decreases massively thanks to mindfulness meditation, even when practiced at home by inexperienced meditators. An overall review of the research suggests that meditation can help a wide range of people to cope with stress at all different levels.

Meditation helps you manage your emotions

When you meditate, you need to brush off unpleasant or intrusive thoughts as they occur to you. It’s all about focusing on the present moment and putting irrelevant thoughts and feelings aside. For this reason, it also helps you to manage your emotions even when you aren’t meditating. An impressive research project has shown that as well as reducing stress, meditating helped people to manage their levels of anger, depression, anxiety, and reactivity. Meditation can ease mood swings and help you react more evenly to difficult situations. Meditation even stops strong emotions from interfering with your performance in mind-based tasks.

Meditation improves your concentration

As you focus on your meditation practice, you’re also improving your ability to concentrate. This can be useful in your work life, your hobbies, and your social interactions. Even a small amount of meditation training can help people to pay better attention. On top of that, meditation allows you to pay attention for longer too, so you are better able to cope with long presentations, study sessions, and topics you need to focus on but don’t find all that interesting.

Meditation eases chronic pain

It might surprise you to learn that meditation can even help to ease chronic pain. Some people suffer from terrible ongoing medical issues that cause them a great deal of physical distress. Scientific research shows that meditation can help to manage this pain and the mental stress it causes too. Chronic pain sufferers reported less medical symptoms and less pain after a 10-week meditation program. In another study, more than a year after the original training, people with chronic pain were still practicing meditation and reporting that it helped them manage their chronic pain. Meditation is an amazing compliment to modern medicine, and its benefits shouldn’t be underestimated.

Of course, people who meditate notice a whole world of other benefits too. These are simply the most commonly reported ones. Meditation does work, and it can help you in numerous ways. If you want to learn more about meditation, come and join us at Samadhi Yoga. As well as our regular yoga classes, we offer a monthly Full Moon Meditation to help you relax, refresh, and realize your deeper hopes and intentions.

We do yoga to improve our posture, become fitter, and find inner peace. But, what happens when the poses that are meant to benefit us actually start harming us? This is exactly what happens when we perform yoga poses without being mindful of what we’re doing and how we’re doing them.

Yoga poses and common mistakes

Here is a list of 5 common poses, with the mistakes we routinely commit and how to correct them:

Crescent Lunge pose

Mistake: Faulty feet alignment, sunken lower back, forward-tilting pelvis, and widely spread legs.

If you’re not careful, you may risk stretching your legs and arms too much and may strain your muscles in the process. Additionally, a wrong crescent lunge won’t work the areas of the body it’s meant to.

Correction: Place the heel over the ball of the foot and tightly squeeze your thighs. Round the back knee of the backward-stretched leg, to ensure you aren’t overextending your leg. Lift the pelvic muscles and keep maintain a neutral spine pose (where the skull and the rib cage are aligned). Legs should only be hip-width apart.

Chaturanga pose

Mistake: Hands placed too far out, collapsed shoulder, dropped elbows, pinched wrists, and pushed-out buttocks.

A wrong chaturanga can impact your lower back, shoulders, and chest muscles. Severe pain and muscle cramps may occur.

Correction: Align your wrists with your elbows and don’t drop the shoulders when lowering. Engage the pelvis, legs, hips, and buttocks while in the pose and maintain the flat alignment of the body.

Dancer pose

Mistake: Open hips, weirdly-pulled leg, locked knee, and twisted grip.

These mistakes can damage your knee muscles and result in severe knee pain. The funky grip you use may also lead to shoulder injuries and chronic pain.

Correction: Soften your standing leg by bending the knee, square your hips, roll back your shoulders and relax. Lift your leg slowly and hold it with your palm facing out.

Eagle pose

Mistake: Crunching your neck, rounding your spine, collapsing your upper body forward, and stooping your shoulders.

When you make a mistake in this pose, you add a lot of pressure on the sensitive areas of the body, such as the spinal cord and the neck. This can lead to severe back and neck pain.

Correction: Straighten your middle and upper back and don’t bend forward. Don’t rest your elbows on your chest, roll your shoulders back and stand up straighter.

Crow pose

Mistake: Splayed elbows, hyper-extending neck, rounded back, and low-to-the-floor body.

The crow pose is extremely risky (as body control is restricted to the wrists and shoulders) and can lead to severe accidents and injuries if you’re not careful.

Correction: Keep feet together, angle the hips high, hug your elbows close to the body and align wrists with elbows. Engage your core when lifting and elongate your neck.

Tips to maintain the perfect posture and alignment in Yogasana

•       Be aware of each movement and breath
•       Take a look at videos or pictures of the pose before trying it out
•       Practice standing in the neutral spine pose
•       Reduce your weight to improve balance
•       Relax your muscles and don’t hold your breath when in the pose
•       Use the same sequence you used to get into the pose, but in reverse, when coming out of the pose

Modern day living has separated us from our natural state. With high-stress levels, we have lost touch with ourselves and our mind and bodies are suffering a disconnect. To bring ourselves back into the flow, we need to discover and live by the 12 Laws of Transformation. When the laws become part of our lives, we rediscover our inner power and life becomes more meaningful. With the 12 Laws, we can be who we are truly mean to be.

The 12 laws guide us to reconnect with ourselves and nature. When we live separate from the laws, we lose sight of our full potential. No longer guided by nature, we struggle to get by, not knowing that there is a better way, an easier way.

When we submit to the 12 Laws of Transformation, we discover a new perspective. Our view of the world changes and we can now understand our own place in the bigger picture. When we strive to live in harmony with our higher purpose, life becomes easier. We can live each day to the fullest, achieving more than ever before, and what we achieve would be more purposeful and for the greater good of all.

The 12 Laws of Transformation

1.     Seek the truth: It is only in truth that we can exist without the need to hide from the world.
2.     Be willing to come apart: We need to open ourselves to the possibilities life has to offer.
3.     Step out of your comfort zone: Very often, the thing that we need the most is just beyond our comfort zone. Have the courage to embrace the change.
4.     Commit to learning: For it is in learning that our minds grow and we can accept a new reality.
5.     Shift your vision: Open your eyes to things that you have not seen before for there lies hidden the answers to life.
6.     Drop what you know: Let go of your old limiting beliefs and make way for new empowering ones.
7.     Relax with what is: Do not resist the change, relax and let it come. Accept your new reality.
8.     Remove the rocks: Let go of all that is holding you back and holding you down. Let go of your problems, they will take care of themselves.
9.     Don’t rush the process: Patience is a virtue that we must all strive for. Let the process unfold naturally, you will see the positive change.
10.   Be true to yourself: Let go of what doesn’t feel right. The answers are all within you; open yourself to your own truth and live by what your heart tells you.
11.   Be still and know: Stop, take a deep breath and listen, let go of all that does not serve you and hold on to what you know is right.
12.   Understand that the whole is the goal: We live life in a complete circle. Any misdeed breaks the circle and we are no longer whole. To stay whole, we must live truthfully in all areas of our lives.

Live by the 12 Laws and watch your life transform into one of harmony and flow. Stay tuned to samadhiyoga.net for more insights and tips.

There are many people who think that yoga doesn’t build strength. The truth is that there are plenty of yoga postures and positions that can help you greatly boost your strength, such as the forearm plank.

But, we aren’t going to look at the forearm plank today. We’re actually going to find out how to do the Plank Party.

This is a typical plank pose that’s going to help you build some serious strength.

Start!

You can begin by getting into a neutral tabletop position. For this, you need to get on all fours with your shoulders positioned parallelly above your wrists and your hips over your knees. Now, make sure your hands are firmly placed on the ground.

Spread your fingers and create more pressure beneath the index finger and the thumb as opposed to the rest of the fingers. Now, as you push down, straighten your arms and flatten your upper back from shoulder to shoulder, while expanding the collarbone.

Make sure your head and neck are aligned with your flattened back. No drooping whatsoever. As you move down, start energizing your core. Your stomach must be sucked in so as to push the navel up to your spine. The sides must be brought towards the midriff as if you were in a corset.

Important Tip: To avoid injury, be sure to align your ribs, hips and sacrum with your heels. This will activate your core area even further.

The final step is where you step your feet back to realize the complete plank pose. The back of your legs must face the sky. When doing this, energize your legs and use all your strength.

Now, imagine your strength flowing from your heels to your head, as it crosses each chakra.

Lastly, don’t forget to breathe.

Advantages

The Plank Party Pose offers a range of benefits. For starters, it makes your wrists and hands stronger and more flexible. Then, your spinal muscles receive a good workout too, especially the extensors, which aid us in achieving an upright position when standing.

Your neck muscles benefit as well, as they are stretched and extended. This can be more useful than you think. We use our necks for a range of functions such as reading or writing.

Your glutes are also strengthened, which, in turn, keeps your hips from sagging and your lower back from developing problems.

On the whole, it’s like a full body workout.

Modify

You can also modify the Plank Party in many ways. For instance, if you want to go the extra mile and really boost your core strength, lift your knees up. This will create extra resistance and make the pose even more challenging.

In fact, you can do the same while still maintaining the tabletop position.

To know more about the Plank Party Posture, visit Samadhi Center for Yoga.

Yoga delivers the physical and mental health benefits they promise if you take care to ensure that your poses and breathing are on point. A common mistake rookies make is not inhaling and exhaling correctly. When you inhale, your chest and stomach should expand, and when you release your breath (exhale), they should contract. What about poses, where many body parts are involved? Here is a look.

Tadasana: Standing Mountain Pose

This yoga exercise requires you to stand tall with your spine straight and the big toes of your feet touching. A common mistake that people tend to make is straining their body too much such that their spine and butt stick out. The idea is to keep the top of your head to your tailbone in one straight line. Stand purposefully without strain, planting your feet firmly and feeling all four corners, and relaxing your shoulders a bit. Draw your tailbone down and look straight ahead, ready to climb every mountain and feel powerful!

Bhujangasana: Cobra pose

This pose mimics the posture of a cobra with its hood raised, and is known for strengthening the lungs as well as the digestive and reproductive systems. In this exercise, you pull your torso back slowly and off the floor, with your hands for support. Try to straighten your arms by arching your back as much as you can, without exerting undue strain, and tilt your head back gently.

The problem occurs when you force your lower body down hard to push up your upper body. This can cause unnecessary stress on your back and neck, canceling any benefit that you may have received by performing the cobra pose correctly. What you should be doing is keeping your shoulders relaxed and bending your elbows slightly while ensuring that your feet are close together. Push your pelvis down on the mat gently and look in any direction of your choosing.

Uttanasana: Standing Forward Bend

Uttanasana is performed by beginners and advanced practitioners for its strengthening effect on the thighs, knees, hamstrings and calves. Advanced students are able to bend forward intensely till their face touches their legs, while beginners may try this after weeks of practice engaging the right muscles.

It is often seen that beginners tend to keep their legs very straight and in the process, roll their spine instead of keeping it straight and long. Remember that it is fine to bend your knees and keep them soft (instead of locking them), but important to maintain a straight spine as you fold over forward.

Virabhadrasana II: Warrior Pose II

Warrior Pose II gives your leg, chest and groin a potent stretch, strengthening thigh and butt muscles, improving digestion, increasing stamina and helping alleviate back aches. A common mistake made here has to do with alignment: the goal is to tug your hip back not up, while keeping your hip bones facing forward. Bend your front knee as much as you want- this will assist with balance and prevent your knee from locking. Keep your back leg straight and relax your neck. Voila, you have mastered the warrior pose!

Now that the holiday season is here there’s almost no time to waste. There are presents to be bought, decorations to be placed, gifts to wrap and meals to make. During these few weeks, yoga should be further up on your to-do list!

Yoga has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety in your life in a variety of ways. Take a look for yourself at just a few.

Pain Relief

Physical pain can get worse with more stress and physical activity. With all the shopping and planning you can develop everything from sore feet to headaches. Yoga has been shown to reduce the longevity and intensity of physical pain symptoms in people even when practiced just once a week. Even something as simple as back pain can be reduced significantly, which can do wonders for your mood and energy levels.

Mental Peace

Yoga shouldn’t be approached like a chore. It’s an opportunity to zone out of the day and take time for yourself to relax and recharge your batteries. Studies prove that one of the biggest stress relieving elements of yoga practice is the mental relaxation that it provides.

According to one scientific study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, levels of chemicals that help reduce anxiety and stress increased after doing yoga. In fact, the participants who did yoga had improved more than those that practiced exercise instead.

Disease Symptoms

Anxiety and chronic pain are usually just parts of broader problems. Many of us suffer from depression, generalized anxiety and so on, not to mention the daily stresses of work and life. These things can pile up and make the holidays seem even more fretful and difficult. They don’t have to be that way.

As mentioned in the previous studies, many practitioners found relief in physical pain and mental stress that stemmed from chronic problems. It’s so important to take some time out of your day to actively relax. Whether that’s asanas or just breathing exercises, you have great resources at your disposal to combat all the tension that comes with this time of year.

Bottom line – don’t let the holiday season bog you down. Come in and meet us for an appointment or a class today!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a vital component of healthy aging is regular physical exercise. Participating in regular movement-based activity can help in preventing, delaying or managing many of the chronic diseases that plague adults ages 50 and older. These maladies take a financial toll along with the price we pay in illness, premature death and generally feeling, well, old.

Get Moving

The CDC tells us that we glean health benefits from physical activity. No amount is too small, and you’re never too old to start. No one expects you to get off the sofa where you’ve camped for 10 years to suddenly capture the title in the local marathon. The selection of your physical activity routine needs to be realistic.

The point is to get moving. One of the most popular ways to start is yoga. According to a National Health Interview Study done by the CDC in January 2017, yoga and mindfulness-based practices among employees improved workers’ health and reduced employers’ costs for stress-related health claims. The use of yoga practice among workers nearly doubled over a 10-year period from 2002 to 2012.

Age Is No Excuse

It doesn’t matter at what age you begin adding physical activity blocks into your day. Your body and brain will adapt. For example, your brain tend to get smaller and lighter as you age. But that doesn’t mean they have to function any less efficiently.

Moderate, low-impact exercising, such as yoga for 30 minutes each day, gives your brain a boost in oxygen levels. Even if you break your exercise sessions into three 10-minute blocks or two 15-minute sessions, the health benefits will be the same.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), physical activity can help the aging population live independently as long as possible. Even those who only began to exercise in their 80s and 90s showed “marked improvement in their strength and overall functional ability.”

The AAOS study found even a small degree of increased physical activity to be beneficial and safe in those with chronic medical conditions affecting joints, muscles or bones. (You’ll want to check with your own medical professional before beginning any physical activity program, of course.)

It’s Not Too Late

Age is a state of mind.

More people are discovering the benefits of yoga and mindfulness as a regular form of exercise, and a yoga lifestyle as a way of improving health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you’re in the Denver area and seeking to begin or continue your yoga experience, give the Samadhi Center for Yoga a call. It’s not too late!

Going to yoga class is a great way to stay healthy and to de-stress. However, what many people don’t realize is that yoga offers a slew of benefits (some surprising) that go way beyond toning and stretching your muscles. If you’re considering going to yoga in the near future, here are some interesting ways that you’ll benefit.

Improved Sex Life

Yoga has been shown to greatly improve peoples’ sex lives. Not only does it make you more flexible, stronger and more energetic — it can also give you stronger, more powerful orgasms. Yoga incorporates many Kegel exercises — and strong Kegels mean strong orgasms. The yoga poses that you learn in your yoga class may also give you some good ideas of positions to try in the bedroom with your partner.

Boosted Immune System

Yoga makes your body strong — but it can also help you avoid getting sick. Yoga practice has been shown to boost the immune system, so head to a class to help avoid that seasonal cold or flu. Experts at Yoga Journal explain that heated yoga poses help clear congestion that can lead to illness, and soothing restorative poses build ojas, or vigor, which is the thing that helps protect your immune system from getting weakened.

Improved Concentration

Throughout yoga class, your instructor will probably remind you to return to your breath. By teaching you how to focus on your breath — and return that focus regularly — yoga can help improve your concentration. Improved concentration benefits you in many areas of your life, not just in yoga class — including in work, personal relationships, and your creative endeavors.

Alleviated Depression

Depression is a condition that affects not only your mental and emotional state but also your physical well-being. Thankfully, yoga practice has been shown to improve people’s depression naturally. Yoga has been shown to increase the levels of the neurotransmitter GABA in people’s’ brains. Low levels of GABA are linked to both depression and anxiety, so by increasing your GABA levels, you can lift the fog of depression from your mind and experience the physical benefits of decreased depression.

2. Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)

3. Legs Against Wall (Viparita Karani)

4. Supine Spinal Twist (Jathara Parivartanasana)

5. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

6. Locust Pose (Salabhasana)

8. Reclining Big Toe (Supta Padangusthasana)

9. Adept’s Pose (Siddhasana)

10. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)