As the day of wedding ceremony draws closer, the fiancees get frantic to look more and more beautiful. They are overeager to shape up and give their best presentation. And why not, after all it is a cardinal turning point of their life. And they would leave no stone unturned to make it memorable.
Adopt yoga, remain ever young
As there are plenty of over the counter cosmetics to lift your face, so are a string of slimming centres to shape up your body. Doubtless, people are attracted to them, yet possibility of their side effect hangs overhead like sword of democles.
That apart, they are expensive too. So, how about having a sparkling face and a well built body without spending a single rupee? Answer is yoga. Start practising it an experience and inner transformation in you within a matter of few weeks only.
Yogi Balmukund Singh, a many times champion of yoga worldwide, famously said : ‘Yoga has many such ‘asanas’ (postures), which if done by young damsels, they wouldn’t need any lipstick or face highlighter.’
Yogasanas as a matter of fact speed up circulation of blood in human body. All the same haemoglobin in blood also increases, bringing that natural pink on face and lips. Additionally, a lot many diseases fade off automatically. Presented here below are some niche yogic exercises recommended by Yogi Balmukund Singh.
Developing your auditory power
Stand with both legs joined, limbs and shoulders falling in one straight line. Close ear opening with thumb of both hands, and both eyes with index finger of respective side. With middle finger, close nasal apertures. With remaining two digits, close your mouth—pointing out all the same—in the manner of a crow beak. Now take a deep breath, bloat your cheeks, and bend neck on to chest region. Then release your breath, open your eyes and unfold neck to normal stance.
Developing your brain power
Stand straight with legs together and shoulder level. Spread out phallanges of both hands, thumbs shut closing nasal chamber, and rest eight fingers joined end to end with respective counter parts. Now stretch your mouth to look like a crow beak, and take in a forceful and deep breath. All this while, keep your eyes open. Then swell your cheeks, close your eyes and take chin to the base of neck. Thereafter, bring neck into normal position and breathe out slowly—looking in straight forward direction.
Both these above asanas (postures) are boosters of facial beauty.
Utthit padmasana
Squat on ground spreading legs forwards together. Put left foot on right thigh and right foot on left thigh in a way that the two heels prees against stomach on either side of the navel.
Back, chest and head should be taut and straight. Then press hands on to ground on both sides, and pressuring ground below with palms, try to lift up your body.
Chakrasana
Lie supine on your back bending both legs by the knee on both sides of the back (right and left). Place both your hands down under shoulders.
Then try lifting your trunk on hands and feet and try to straighten your back.
However, patients of hernia shouldn’t attempt this asana.
Mandookasana
Sit in Vajrasana bending both knees, place closed fists of both hands on navel and press them hard deep into abdomen. Keep breathing normally, bend forward so as to touch chest on knees, and then raise your neck up. Doing this asana will increase circulation of blood in face.
Padhastasana
Join heel and toes of both legs and stand straight. Then take a deep breath, extend both hands forward in straight line, then take them up gradually till they are held vertically in the body line. Then exhale slowly and bending down at waistline try touching both your palms on ground without angling at knees. And all the same try touching your head to your knees. Thereafter as your gain expertise, you may even catch hold of your foot toes. But those who suffer from cervical and backache, shouldn’t do this yogasana.
Halasana
Lie supine on your back keeping palms close to your thighs and pressed to ground. Now raise paired legs slowly to 30, 60 and 90 degrees and then flat to 180 degrees by touching feet on ground over your head. Then this process of leg circling is reversed to come back to the primary supine position.
Konasana
Open your legs to a distance of 2½ to 3 feet at ground level, and stand straight. Then raise your right hand up with palm facing towards the body line, and put your left hand palm on same side thigh. Now bend to your left to an extent that makes 900 angle with wasteline. All the same the raised right arm should also swing to that side making a 900 angle. Now reverse this procedure and bend to your right with left arm raised above head.
Pristhabhoomi tadasana
Lie down on ground—back facing downwards. Take your hands back, over to head, and place them close to ears. Then inhale deeping tucking abdomen as deep as possible, and then exhale releasing abdomen to normal stance. With this exercise belly doesn’t protrude out and blood flow in muscles remains optimum.
Bhujangasana
Lie down on your belly over a clean ground spot and keeping palms below each shoulder lift neck slowly upwards. Then raise your chest going as far backwards as possible, and try straightening your arms. This asana in contraindicated for patients of hernia.
Urdhva sarwang asana
Lie on your back keeping both hands below respective buttocks. Now join your two legs, raise them, and try touching your head with them. Then bring them down to their original position.
Pashchimottanasana
Squat on ground and stretch your legs straight forward. Spread both your hands likewise and bend forward taking care that hands and legs remain taut and unbent.
Then catch hold of foot toes with respective hand, and hold for a while. Then try pressing nose on to your knee keeping your abdomen tucked in.
Ardha matsyendrasana
Sit on ground in Sukhasana stance, and position your right foot close to your left knee. Now press knee of this raised right leg with your left hand and catch hold right foot. Take your right hand, gradually to your back and turn your neck to look back in that same direction. Repeat this exercise with your second leg and hand.
This is the best of all exercises for the back region. It gives maximum circular rotation to backbone making muscles of back supple and strong. At the same time this asana stimulate, liver and adrenal glands. After this, do a follow up Trikonasana as explained below.
Trikonasana
Sit on haunches with legs bent backwards so that your body weight falls on your heels. Now raise your body and place it on right side of your feet. Bending your left knee take your left leg over to your right leg and place it on ground in such a way that left heel abuts your right thigh.
Keep your back up and straight. Then spread your arms to right and left and try rotating your trunk to left side.
Now hold your left leg with your right hand, and forcing your breath out, as far as possible bend your body to left while looking to your left shoulder all this while.
Remain in this stance for 3 to 5 minutes. And repeat this entire drill with the other leg.
Doing Trikonsana past Ardha Matsyendrasana is necessary because the later stretches the upper body parts horizontally whereas Trikonasana strikes balance by stretching body longitudinaly.
Trikonasana firms up backbone and muscles of rib cage, increases lung’s capacity, and corrects body’s overall postural balance.
In this above asana, try standing up after bending your legs slightly to the left, and spacing them apart 3-4 feet of each other. Spread your left hand to the left side of your body, and push your right hand up bruching against your right ear. Now exhaling air from nostril, bend body to the left side. Maintain your legs at same distance you began with. Remember in this asana it is only the upper part of body which has to be rotated sideways. With your left hand, try catching heel of same side leg.
It’s quite likely your hand, in initial attempts, may not reach upto your heel. In that case hold your leg at whatsoever point you can muster, and do breathing exercise three times. Now repeat this very procedure turning body line to the right side.
Yogasanas help balancing your body
It is important to execute your yogasanas correctly, but equally important is this, that you bring your body back-to-normal also with same dexterity. Avoid jolting your body to normal posture post exercise. Rather you must unwind with similar grace as accompanied your build to yogic stances in first place.
Indeed it may seem time consuming but if you are hasty sprains and injuries may follow suit. That apart, you also miss out on reaping full benefits of yogasanas. To use yogasanas to best advantage, some precautions are necessary.
First of all, after every session of yogic exercise, do Shavasana or other such posture which is soothing and relaxing in effect.
Secondly, while doing an asana, only those parts of body be manoeuvered, as directed. Yoga is essentially an act of striking balance between the mutually antagonising tension and relaxation. Ergo, if those body parts as not indicated are pressed into movement the delicate balance between antagonising elements will go heywire, and desired benefits wouldn’t be reaped.
Apart from that, yogasanas should be performed only in prescribed order. For, even their chronology connotes prudent balance between tension and relaxation of body muscles.
Miscellaneous cautions
Do yogasanas on empty stomach after attending to your morning ablutions, or, three hours after taking your dinner in evening. Those who suffer from neck or back pain shouldn’t do forward bending exercises, as they would harm them. Rather, they should go for backward bending exercises which will prove beneficial for them.
Even if you have sharp feature, a pot belly will make you look couch potato. A swollen belly spoils your whole personality. But why worry? We will tell you how to tuck in your abdomen. Here is what you should do :
❑ Stand straight. Raise both your hands up. Open your legs. Now gradually take your hands downwards to touch to ground. Do this 4-5 times. This will not only reduce your waistline, it will also melt away fat around thigh region. And you will get relief even from backache.
❑ Lie supine—belly downwards. Join both heels together. Position both palms on ground near to shoulders. Now raise front part of your body in slow motion till both your arms are extended to full. Now bend both your legs. Take your neck backwards to touch your head with feet all the same trying to extend your legs towards head side. Do this 3 to 4 times in the beginning. This relieves joint pains, and improves digestion.
❑ Lie on your back, with legs straight and resting on ground. Raise coupled legs together in slow motion—till they are verticle to ground. Keep them thus for as long as covenient. Then put them down gradually to their ground position. Do this 2-3 times initially, increasing it to 5-6 times later on. This is good exercise for abdominal region, as also for your legs.
❑ Stand upright and lift your left leg—bending it at knee. Now try touching its knee right elbow (arm is bent at elbow). Do this 10-12 times while jogging. When done prior to any exercise form, it warms up the body and readies it for formal drill.
❑ Lie straight on your back. Open your palms and place them on ground. Raise both legs together, making them vertically upright, gradually. Hold legs thus for as long as you can.
