Basic Requirements for Yoga Practice

Practice of yoga has benefited millions in the present times. With more and more people adopting this ancient art of over all wellness as a part of their daily lives, the basic requirements to make the practice fruitful has also become essential. Performing yoga asanas, pranayam and meditation any time, anywhere and in whatever condition will/may result in negative outcome. Therefore, before conducting practice one should make sure that the environmental, physical and material requirements are met with. This is essential and very important because each of these factors has their individual impact on practice of yoga.

To begin with the environmental requirements, one must ensure practicing in peaceful and tranquil environment, where pets, pests and unwanted people do not hamper the flow of practice. In case of outdoor practice, the weather should also be considered. In too hot, too cold, rainy and stormy weather, practice should be conducted indoors. While practicing indoors, the same conditions of peace and silence should be maintained. Fresh, fragrant and airy rooms with lots of sunlight are most desirable conditions of practice. There are many who play yoga music while practicing, but it is best not to do so in the initial stages.

Secondly, as far as physical conditions are concerned, empty stomach is considered best for practicing yoga. Eating or, drinking right before performing yoga asanas will certainly cause fatigue and nausea. It is also vital to make sure that the health of the practicing person is in perfect state. A person suffering from any physical ailments, serious or otherwise should either stop practicing for some time or, consult his/her trainer before commencing. Any kind of chronic mental or, physical conditions should be revealed before taking up yoga altogether.

Thirdly, the material requirements, though not considered as important as the first two requirements, in traditional forms of practice, has gained grounds of importance in the present times. One must make sure that the clothing while practicing yoga is appropriate. Loose garments that allow every joint of the body to move comfortably are the first material requirement of yoga. Color, patterns or brand of the yoga clothing hold no importance, as long as the clothes are comfortable. Yoga mats, bolsters, blankets and straps are also some of the material requirements that aid people to practice.

Dos and Don’ts of Pranayam

Pranayam or, yogic breath control exercise is one out of the three main aspects of yoga, the other two being yoga asanas (exercises) and dhyana (meditation). According to yogis, it is the technique to ‘silence the breath’. In simple words we can explain this by saying that yogic breathing involves reducing the number of respiration made per minute. The process of respiration involves inhalation and exhalation (that is breathing in and breathing out), and a normal person breathes around 16 to 20 times in a span of 60 seconds. The aim is to reduce this figure to around six to eight.

While the process of breath control may seem easy compared to the strenuous asanas, it is actually not so. In order to practice breath regulation one will have to strictly adhere to some guidelines. Usually these guidelines are mentioned and supervised by the trainers who impart the yoga lesson. Firstly, it is vital that any diseases or, injury suffered recently or, in the process of recovery should be mentioned to the trainer. Practicing pranayam in ill health produces reverse effects. Also, it is essential to note that the stomach is not full during breath regulation practice.

Sitting in a comfortable relaxed position is necessary before commencing pranayam. This reduces chances of exhaustion during practice. As the breathing exercises begin, one should make sure that the time mentioned for each inhalation and exhalation is the same. It is granted that a beginner would make mistakes, but not making an attempt to rectify them will render the practice meaningless and in the long run may harm the person in many ways. The timing should be such that beginners don’t feel shortage of breath at any moment and the time may be decreased as the learner gets better.

The inhalation and exhalation process must be complete in every round. The lungs should be full with each inhalation and maximum possible amount of air should be expelled with each exhalation. At no point should the lungs remain partially full while inhaling or, partially empty while exhaling. There should be a uniform flow of incoming and outgoing breath. No forceful efforts should be made while practice. Pranayam is supposed to calm the system and not agitate it. Therefore, one must maintain calm and do as much as his body can handle. Knitting of brows, bulging eyes, uncomfortable expressions etc should be avoided. If it happens involuntarily, it means that something is not going right and practice should be halted.

If at any point one feels suffocated, he/she should slowly stop. Pranayam is such that one achieves silencing of breath without feeling exhaustion at any moment. One must enjoy the practice and not get affected by it. It is alright to keep the eyes closed as it will help in improving concentration towards practice. Sometimes mantras are given to recite during breath regulation exercises, while the eyes remain closed. But this generally happens in the advanced stages. These guidelines are simple but of great importance. Therefore, one must bear them in mind to experience the best that pranayam has to offer.

Feel Better With the Yoga Programs

Each and every time Yoga is described as an exercise which makes use of some Yoga Poses along with the asanas. However, it has been found that yoga practitioners insist on the vegetarian diet. Well, the reason it is known as a vegetarian diet is those who practice yoga don’t eat meat as they believe it is not right for them and the nature. Each and every human being has some responsibility towards the nature and they should show kindness towards animals.

The Yoga practitioners who run the daily Yoga Programs advice their students to have the yoga diet on regular basis. The concept of Yoga Diet is pretty popular with the foreigners as their regular diet includes all the unhealthy and spicy stuff like pizzas, burgers etc. So, they strictly stick to the yoga diet to enhance their health which rather means a healthy life style.

What is a Yoga diet? Yes, this is question which is asked by the Beginners of Yoga. A Yoga diet includes all the healthy food like cereals, green leafy vegetables, whole grains and fruits. If you eat this diet regularly, then you will soon experience a positive energy is developing within you. It helps to purify your mind and soul. This diet is also recommended by the doctors as it also reduces your weight, making you feel better and better with each passing day.

With the yoga diet, doctors also advise their patients to practice meditation which is very effective in reducing stress. Meditation for beginners is a bit difficult in comparison to those who have practiced for a long time. Meditation requires a lot of focus and you should breathe with the correct postures. Nowadays people prefer to practice meditation rather than paying the costly bills of doctors, as meditation not only helps to enhance your mental and physical health but also motivates you to reach your respective targets. You can easily learn the correct breathing techniques from any article or book. But it is always advisable to you to consult a qualified meditation practitioner to guide you with the right breathing techniques.