Yoga is the healing system par excellence. It can help all of us stay healthy without medicines and surgeries. It is also the go-to modality for spiritual and mental peace. The selection of yoga asanas for different age groups is extremely critical in yoga. How asanas are done, at what time and for how long are some of the basics that matter a lot too.

Here are a few easy-to-do asanas for three different age groups:
Age: 9-19
Before the age of seven, children should not do yoga. This is because their heart s capacity to pump blood is limited and it may not be able to handle the heightened load during practice.

1. Virabhadrasana: This asana strengthens the muscles of the legs and makes leg and back muscles flexible. It tones the abdominal organs too. It helps children be active and fit.
Method:

Stand straight with your legs wide apart.
Turn your right foot out by 90 degrees.
And turn left foot in by 15 degrees.
Lift both arms sideways to shoulder height with your palms facing upwards.
Now breathe out and bend your right knee.
Turn your head to your right. Push your hips down and hold the posture.
Breathe in while you come up.

2. Naukasana: This asana works on the muscular, digestive, circulatory, nervous and hormonal systems, and gets rid of belly fat.
Method:

Lie down flat on a mat on your back.
Breathe in and hold the breath.
Raise your arms, shoulders, head and trunk off the ground.
Balance body on buttocks and keep the spine straight.
Keep arms in the same line as your toes with palms facing downwards.
Age- 20-34
1. Sukhasana: This asana is excellent to calm and soothe. It eliminates anxiety.
Method:
Sit with your legs stretched in front.
Bend your knees and fold your legs towards your middle.
Cross your legs and keep the arches of the foot on the thighs.
Sit with your hips in a neutral position.

2. Trikonasana: This is a very good pose for the spine and pelvis. It cures a backache and is good for digestion.
Method:

Stand erect, inhale and step to the right with left heel turned inward.
Exhale and reach out over your foot with your right hand, bending to the right.
Feel the stretch.
Raise the left hand vertically upwards.
Turn your head to look up towards the left thumb.
Age- 35 and above
1. Vajrasana: It improves blood supply to upper torso and head and builds stamina. Excellent for digestion and can be done on a full stomach.
Method:

Stand on your knees with the lower legs stretched backwards, with toes crossing.
Now lower your body to sit on your heels with buttocks resting on them.
Keep your hands on knees and head straight.
Breathe in deep and concentrate on the breath.
2. Halasana: Cervical spondylosis, back pain and shoulder stiffness can all be cured through this asana. It is very useful for menopausal women too.
Method:

Lie on your back with knees bent and legs together.
Place your hands underneath the back supporting it.
Exhale and swing your knees and thighs over your torso.
Raise your hips and abdomen to support the position.
Straighten your legs parallel to the ground.

Yoga Asanas For Different Age Groups!

Ayurveda addresses the physical, mental and emotional well-being of a person. According to ayurveda, emotional instability is caused by miscommunication between the head and the heart. Here are ten ayurvedic tips to uplift your emotions and calm your inner self. 

 Go to bed on time: a good night's sleep is essential not only for your physical health, but also for your mental health. Try going to bed by 9 pm on a regular basis. This will give you a restful night's sleep and allow you to awake feeling refreshed.
 Wake up with the sun: an early start to the day keeps you from feeling dull and tired and boosts your energy levels. This also prevents build-up of toxins in your body and helps keep circulation and internal communication lines clear. 
 Go outdoors: start your day by taking a walk outdoors early morning. This releases positive neurohormones that elevate your mood and activates the body's energy centres. 
 Avoid constipation: clearing the waste created by your body on a daily basis is crucial to having a calm persona and not suffering from low mood swings. Drink plenty of water and make it a habit to eliminate your bowels at a particular time of the day to prevent constipation. Eating food rich in fiber or eating a few prunes, figs or cooked apples before going to bed can also help prevent constipation. 
 Eat food that is easy to digest: food that is easy to digest does not cause bloating and other indigestion-related problems. It also prevents the buildup of toxic chemicals and boosts immunity. When your physical health is good, your mood gets elevated as well. 
 Try herbs and spices: spices and herbs help the body absorb nutrients and prevent the buildup of toxins in your body. Try including flavouring agents like turmeric, amla, peppermint oil, coconut oil and cumin in your food to make yourself feel happier. 
 Get a massage: a massage relaxes the body and eases stress. It also releases toxins, improves circulation and invigorates the body. Use any oil you like for a massage as each has its own unique properties. 
 Exercise: regular exercise is one of the cornerstones of good physical and mental health. Aim for at least half an hour rigrous exercise or break it into smaller intervals as per your time suitability. Yoga can also be very beneficial when it comes to elevating your mood. 
 Pranayama: pranayama is the yogic way of breathing. This teaches you to breathe slowly and consciously so as to release pent up anger, stress etc and calm the mind. 
 Meditate: regular meditation at the beginning or end of each day can also help calm the body and mind.

10 Ayurvedic Secrets to Uplift the Emotions and Create Inner Calm

When you get a compliment'smart thinking or you are intelligent or that was intelligent of you, you definitely feel good. These comments fill us with confidence, admiration and pride and we want it to happen to us again and again. But owing to a busy schedule and long working hours it might not be possible. Having said this, it does not mean that a person cannot stay intelligent throughout. This can be easily achieved by regular meditation. Regular meditation and yoga helps the mind to be more reflective and efficient.

Here are reasons how yoga and meditation lead to an intellectual learning and growth:

 Utilizes the brain: almost everyone uses one half of their brain more and this leads to imbalance. Meditation is believed to sync the left and the right hemispheres, thereby allowing neural connection and great processing power. When logical left and creative right brains start working in harmony, then solving problems becomes easy; and it also increases creativity, deep thinking comes to be known of and concentration and focus magnifies. Highly successful people usually display whole brain synchronization.
 Functional capabilities of brain enhance due to meditation: research backs it that meditation increases the gray matter thickness of the brain regions, thus making the brain smarter, bigger and faster. This is very similar to doing physical exercise which makes the muscles denser and stronger. The increase in functional capabilities of brain is based on the concept of neuroplasticity, which states that our intelligence is not based on genetics and there are some things which can be done to improve the way our brain works. Meditation is a good brain enhancer with an ability to increase intelligence.
 Beneficial brainwave patterns can be seen: meditation can help to guide the brainwaves into beneficial frequencies. The frequencies: alpha, theta and delta when guided can show case a myriad of benefits including idea generation, creativity, cognitive functioning, and intellectual capacity. Meditation helps to transform these beneficial states of mind and help boost the iq.
 Develops intuition and insights: these are generally obtained through listening and developing to the inner voice. Thus meditation forms to be the basic key to tap these latent abilities. The intelligence can be mapped through tests and quizzes and is valuable at each level to stimulate insights and creativity. As per some people, inner intelligence, is considered to be the most important and best success in the world. Successful people including steve jobs have stated that their super revolutionary ideas and business acumen came through their intuition.
 Meditation helps in improving both short and long term memory: the key memory areas hippocampus and frontal lobe show increase in activity during meditation. By stimulating these areas, the short and long term memories are improved.

Can Yoga Improve Your IQ?

Since ages, meditation has been placed on a pedestal for its far reaching benefits. While on one end, it is known to bridge the gap between one's outer and inner self, on the other hand it is believed to be a pathway to enlightenment. Meditation has been scientifically proven to affect one's health positively. For a balanced lifestyle and a sorted outlook in dire circumstances, you must make meditation a part and parcel of your daily life.
The benefits of meditation can be laid down as follows:

1. The way you respond to pain can be altered through meditation: meditation makes you stronger and perhaps, more tolerant to body pains and aches. It empowers you to somewhat control how your brain feels the actions and processes in your body. People who face conditions like fibromyalgia, migraine or osteoarthritis can fight against the discomfort for a longer span of time through regular meditation.

2. Meditation can improve your cardiovascular health: a healthy heart can make you enjoy more than a couple of advantages. Meditation is known to regulate blood pressure levels; while your heart rate decreases, the amount of blood circulated into your heart increases, thus ridding you of acute stress. A happy heart has more potential to exercise to further maintain its well-being.

3. It will shun away your fears: the threat of a fear or a phobia can resist you from delivering to the best of your abilities. Fears are crippling. Meditation dwells on the principle of maintaining equilibrium between one's mind and body. A person is therefore endowed with the ability to deal with his or her personal problems. Meditation enables you to keep your fears on a leash.

4. Creativity and determination can be your key features: a person who meditates regularly will have wider access to his or her talents. Meditation is known to hone your softer skills by making you more creative and innovative. It gives you clarity of thought and thus you will find yourself more focused on your goals.

5. It makes you relax more and worry less: meditation soothes the brain neurons. It prevents you from being anxious. Meditation makes you so very engrossed in the moment that fretting over the future will slip your attention altogether. You live a happier life if you meditate regularly.

5 Benefits of Meditation

Yoga has been touted amongst the best and most effective, time tested and natural way to eliminate various diseases and problems with the body as well as the mind. It is an antiquated craftsmanship that strengthens the body as well as relaxes the brain with the right dose of mindfulness as well. Yoga tends to stimulate the nervous system and the endocrine, digestive and circulatory systems and improve the functioning of the same. 

The postures mentioned below affect at least one of these systems, thereby clearing the path for a strong immune system. These postures are as follows:

Shishuasana (child posture): Shishuasana is a phenomenal stance that de-congests the abdomen and constructs a superior and stronger immune system.
Setu Bandhasana (bridge posture): Setu Bandhasana opens the heart and enhances the blood flow. It increases the energy in the body to build a strong resistance against pathogens.
Halasana (plow posture): Halasana is a pose that requires a backward bend. It discharges white cells in the body and strengthens the immune system.
Bhujangasana (cobra posture): Bhujangasana is a mid-section opening posture which discharges white cells that enhance the body s resistance.
Dhanurasana (bow posture): Dhanurasana is yet other posture that enhances the flow of white cells by putting weight on the working of the digestive system.
Matsyasana (fish posture): Matsyasana stretches the abdomen and chest and strengthens the thymus. This enhances the body's invulnerability level.
Vinyasa Adho Mukha Svanasana (flowing downward facing dog pose): Begin with the plank pose, palms lying on the floor just underneath your shoulder and extend the legs backwards. The whole body should form a straight line like a board. Taking a full breath, lift your hips off the floor. Hold yourself on the hands and heels. Your head needs to point towards the ground. Take full breaths, two or three times, as you hold the position. Breathe out a deep breath, relax and return to the plank posture. Gradually bring down your body. Slide your hands backwards, allowing your palms to rest alongside the chest. Toes need to be in contact with the mat or the floor.
Yoga is a holistic routine that strengthens the body physically and also mentally. Subsequently, the body s immune system additionally enhances in such a condition. A sound life can be effortlessly accomplished if we figure out how to embrace a healthier way of life, healthy food decisions, and standard routines of yoga and meditation. Ayurveda, yoga and meditation are the perfect variables to carry on with a sound life.
Yoga is not an alternative option to medicines. It is a careful step to keep infections under control. Along these lines, one need not sit tight waiting for the seasonal flu to affect the body because it can be cured effortlessly with yoga.

Yoga - How it Can Boost Your Immunity?

8 Do’s and don’ts of meditation for beginners

While meditation can improve your overall well being considerably, it can take some time for you to master this art, especially if you're a beginner.  Follow these simple do’s and don’ts, even if you’re a novice, you can be well on your way to finding inner peace, happiness, focus and the holistic health benefits that come with the daily practice of this art (and science).

The Don’ts of Meditation

1. Don’t do it with too many expectations
It can do more harm than good if you go into meditation with a baggage of expectations. You need to go into it with an open mind, while letting go of all your hopes, goals and expectations. Most importantly, to experience inner peace and stillness, you have to persevere, even if the results do not match your expectations. 

2. Don’t worry about interruptions
Meditation is all about letting go and learning to go with the flow. So, don’t get flustered if you experience interruptions and have to get back to your meditative mindset several times. 

3. Don’t look upon meditation as a quick-fix for your problems
Considered to be an effective treatment for stress and worries, meditation should not be taken up with the thinking that your problems would be resolved in no time. The effects of meditation may not show up for months to come. Patience is the key when it comes to meditation. 

The Do’s of Meditation

4. Do meditate in a quiet spot
Whether you’re doing it alone, at home or in a group, it is always good to meditate in a place where you will not be distracted by your surroundings. Your meditation can break even at the slightest noise, so pick the quietest spot possible. 


5. Do meditate in a group
For a beginner, meditating alone can be difficult and discouraging. You require a great deal of mental effort and determination to just sit still and not do anything. So, it’s good to go at it with the help of others who have been practicing it for sometime as their struggles and experiences may teach you a lot.

6. Do take the help of technology to improve your meditation
Apart from books, even technological tools like podcasts and apps can aid in improving your meditation knowledge and skills. While podcasts on meditation can be downloaded and viewed anytime, anywhere; apps can be used to time your meditation or even to divert any calls or messages that you may receive while you’re meditating, thus, preventing any form of distraction.

7. Do experiment and vary your practice        
In order to stave off boredom that might arise from pursuing just one kind of meditation style, you could vary your practice with a myriad of meditation styles, ranging from a body targeted meditation to a breath focused one.

8. Always opt for the sitting position
It’s extremely important to get your body to differentiate between sleep and meditation. The body of a beginner can easily mistake meditation for sleep. For this reason, it is best to be always in a seated position when meditating. You could use blankets or pillows to increase your comfort level. 

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8 Do’s and Don’ts of Meditation for Beginners

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