Yoga: Postura Del Arado

Técnica

Extendido en el suelo, sobre la espalda, con las piernas juntas y los brazos a ambos lados del cuerpo.

Con los brazos rectos y presionando las palmas de las manos contra el suelo, vaya elevando en el aire las piernas y todo el tronco, conduciendo los pies al suelo por encima de la cabeza y, en lo posible, manteniendo las piernas estiradas, como se ilustra en el dibujo correspondiente. Sitúe las manos debajo de la nuca y regule la respiración. Mantenida la postura el tiempo indicado, conduzca los brazos a la posición inicial y deshágala lentamente.

Tiempo

Cuarenta y cinco segundos y se efectúa dos veces.

 

Beneficios

. Todos los músculos de la espalda son poderosamente estirados y tonificados, mejorándose el riego sanguíneo a los mismos. También se estimulan vigorosamente todos los pares de nervios espinales, que son sobre abastecidos de sangre.

. Dota de flexibilidad a la espina dorsal y la mantiene joven.

. La vigorosa presión que el mentón ejerce sobre la garganta favorece la glándula tiroides, regula su funcionamiento y perfecciona asimismo el funcionamiento del metabolismo

y regula la tensión arterial.

. La contracción que se origina sobre la cavidad abdominal ejerce un saludable masaje sobre todos los órganos abdominales, reactivando su funcionamiento.

. Regula el sistema simpático.

. Produce una beneficiosa afluencia de sangre fresca a la espalda y la espina dorsal, que origina también un aporte extra de sangre al cuello y la cabeza, lo que representa una inyección de vitalidad para el cerebro.

. En las mujeres, regula el funcionamiento de los ovarios, y, en los hombres, influye muy positivamente sobre la próstata.

. Previene contra la congestión de diversos órganos abdominales, la diabetes, la constipación, la artritis, la dispepsia, la descalcificación, la aerofagia y determinadas mialgias.

. Combate el estreñimiento y diversas lesiones de la espina dorsal, el desequilibrio nervioso y la melancolía.

. Descansa profundamente las piernas, previniendo las varices.

. Mitiga dolores lumbares y dota de elasticidad a la articulación del hombro.

. Favorece la interiorización y la concentración.

Fuente: "El Gran Libro del Yoga", Ramiro Calle

Yoga: Tres Posturas Básicas

 

1. Postura del árbol

 

 

La postura del árbol facilita el equilibrio interior y el balance de los chakras.

Párate con los pies juntos y lleva las manos unidas al pecho. Esta es una de las posturas básicas del yoga: la postura de la montaña. Lleva la mirada a un punto fijo a la altura de tus ojos. Eso te ayudará a mantener el equilibrio. Con la atención en el balance, lleva la planta del pie derecho a la parte interna de tu muslo izquierdo, o si te es más cómodo, apóyala en tu pantorrilla; lo importante es que sea por encima o por debajo de la rodilla, pero nunca sobre ésta. Mantén la rodilla girada hacia fuera y la cadera cuadrada hacia el frente.

Eleva los brazos al cielo, manteniendo las palmas juntas y la concentración. Mantén treinta segundos. Para salir de la postura, baja nuevamente los brazos, las manos a la altura del pecho, y regresa el pie al suelo. Repite la postura del árbol con la pierna contraria.

Si estás al aire libre, inspirarte en los árboles que te rodean te da equilibrio y firmeza para crecer muy arriba y te conecta con la tierra.

2. La vela - parada de hombros

La parada de hombros trabaja el sistema endocrino.

Acuéstate boca arriba, con los pies juntos y las manos apoyadas a los lados del cuerpo con las palmas hacia abajo.

Levanta las piernas noventa grados. Ayúdate con las manos a levantar la cadera del suelo y desliza las manos hacia arriba de tus caderas, manteniendo las piernas estiradas, hasta llegar a la parte alta de tu espalda. Las manos deben ofrecer un apoyo firme.

Intenta juntar los omóplatos lo más que puedas, los brazos muy juntos a tu cuerpo y elevar los pies tan alto como te sea posible. Junta la barbilla al pecho. Mantén la postura 30 segundos y llevando la atención a la respiración; respira profundamente y tranquilamente. Ten cuidado de no girar ni lastimar el cuello. Para salir de esta postura, la parada de hombros(su versión avanzada es la postura de la vela), lleva las piernas unos centímetros hacia atrás, y apoya las manos en el suelo. Utilízalas manos a manera de freno para regresar al piso, muy lentamente, vértebra por vértebra.

3. Torsión dorsal

La torsión hace un masaje en los órganos internos y mantiene la salud de la columna.

Arrodíllate, sentado sobre las piernas y con la espalda recta, para iniciar esta postura. Debes quedar bien sentado, con ambos isquiones (los huesos en los que nos sentamos) apoyados en el suelo. No te sientes sobre el pie izquierdo.

Apoya el brazo izquierdo en el suelo y plántalo junto a tu columna, firme y estirado, con la palma hacia afuera. Estira el derecho bien arriba, cerca a tu oreja derecha.

Gira tus hombros hacia tu izquierda. Utiliza el brazo derecho para profundizar la postura; puedes dejarlo haciendo presión contra la pierna, o si puedes, estíralo y agarra tu pie izquierdo. Mira por encima del hombro derecho. Respira profundamente y con conciencia del ejercicio y de cada parte que estás estirando. Sostén 30 segundos, y repite hacia el lado contrario para balancear los dos lados en esta torsión dorsal.


Las torsiones sirven para tener una columna vertebral saludable, a masajear los órganos internos y ayuda a la apertura de las caderas. Respira profundamente y dirige la atención a cada parte que estás estirando.

Fuente:  http://elyoga.about.com/od/Tecnicas/ss/Tres-posturas-basicas.htm

Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter

Dr. Lee Berk and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley Tan of Loma Linda University in California have been studying the effects of laughter on the immune system. To date their published studies have shown that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being. 

Following is a summary of his research, taken from an interview published in the September/October 1996 issue of the Humor and Health Journal.

Laughter Activates the Immune System

In Berk's study, the physiological response produced by belly laughter was opposite of what is seen in classical stress, supporting the conclusion that mirthful laughter is a eustress state -- a state that produces healthy or positive emotions.

Research results indicate that, after exposure to humor, there is a general increase in activity within the immune system, including: 

	An increase in the number and activity level of natural killer cells that attack viral infected cells and some types of cancer and tumor cells.
	An increase in activated T cells (T lymphocytes). There are many T cells that await activation. Laughter appears to tell the immune system to "turn it up a notch."
	An increase in the antibody IgA (immunoglobulin A), which fights upper respiratory tract insults and infections.
	An increase in gamma interferon, which tells various components of the immune system to "turn on."
	An increase in IgB, the immunoglobulin produced in the greatest quantity in body, as well as an increase in Complement 3, which helps antibodies to pierce dysfunctional or infected cells. The increase in both substances was not only present while subjects watched a humor video; there also was a lingering effect that continued to show increased levels the next day.

Laughter Decreases "Stress" Hormones

The results of the study also supported research indicating a general decrease in stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity. These were shown to decrease in the study group exposed to humor.

For example, levels of epinephrine were lower in the group both in anticipation of humor and after exposure to humor. Epinephrine levels remained down throughout the experiment.

In addition, dopamine levels (as measured by dopac) were also decreased. Dopamine is involved in the "fight or flight response" and is associated with elevated blood pressure.
Laughing is aerobic, providing a workout for the diaphragm and increasing the body's ability to use oxygen.

Laughter brings in positive emotions that can enhance – not replace -- conventional treatments. Hence it is another tool available to help fight the disease.

Experts believe that, when used as an adjunct to conventional care, laughter can reduce pain and aid the healing process. For one thing, laughter offers a powerful distraction from pain.

In a study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, patients were told one-liners after surgery and before painful medication was administered. Those exposed to humor perceived less pain when compared to patients who didn't get a dose of humor as part of their therapy.

Perhaps, the biggest benefit of laughter is that it is free and has no known negative side effects.

So, here is a summary of how humor contributes to physical health.  More details can be found in the article, Humor and Health contributed by Paul McGhee

Muscle Relaxation - Belly laugh results in muscle relaxation. While you laugh, the muscles that do not participate in the belly laugh, relaxes. After you finish laughing those muscles involved in the laughter start to relax. So, the action takes place in two stages.

Reduction of Stress Hormones - Laughter reduces at least four of neuroendocrine hormones associated with stress response. These are epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.

Immune System Enhancement - Clinical studies have shown that humor strengthens the immune system.

Pain Reduction - Humor allows a person to "forget" about pains such as aches, arthritis, etc.

Cardiac Exercise - A belly laugh is equivalent to "an internal jogging." Laughter can provide good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercises.

Blood Pressure - Women seem to benefit more than men in preventing hypertension.

Respiration - Frequent belly laughter empties your lungs of more air than it takes in resulting in a cleansing effect - similar to deep breathing. Especially beneficial for patient's who are suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.

Source:  http://www.holisticonline.com/Humor_Therapy/humor_therapy_benefits.htm

The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains

Let’s review some good lifestyle options we can fol­low to main­tain, and improve, our vibrant brains.

1. Learn what is the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic under­stand­ing will serve you well to appre­ci­ate your brain’s beauty as a liv­ing and constantly-developing dense for­est with bil­lions of neu­rons and synapses.
2. Take care of your nutri­tion. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but con­sumes over 20% of the oxy­gen and nutri­ents we intake? As a gen­eral rule, you don’t need expen­sive ultra-sophisticated nutri­tional sup­ple­ments, just make sure you don’t stuff your­self with the “bad stuff”.
3. Remem­ber that the brain is part of the body. Things that exer­cise your body can also help sharpen your brain: phys­i­cal exer­cise enhances neurogenesis.
4. Prac­tice pos­i­tive, future-oriented thoughts until they become your default mind­set and you look for­ward to every new day in a con­struc­tive way. Stress and anx­i­ety, no mat­ter whether induced by exter­nal events or by your own thoughts, actu­ally kills neu­rons and pre­vent the cre­ation of new ones. You can think of chronic stress as the oppo­site of exer­cise: it pre­vents the cre­ation of new neurons.
5. Thrive on Learn­ing and Men­tal Chal­lenges. The point of hav­ing a brain is pre­cisely to learn and to adapt to chal­leng­ing new envi­ron­ments. Once new neu­rons appear in your brain, where they stay in your brain and how long they sur­vive depends on how you use them. “Use It or Lose It” does not mean “do cross­word puz­zle num­ber 1,234,567″. It means, “chal­lenge your brain often with fun­da­men­tally new activities”.
6. We are (as far as we know) the only self-directed organ­isms in this planet. Aim high. Once you grad­u­ate from col­lege, keep learn­ing. The brain keeps devel­op­ing, no mat­ter your age, and it reflects what you do with it.
7. Explore, travel. Adapt­ing to new loca­tions forces you to pay more atten­tion to your envi­ron­ment. Make new deci­sions, use your brain.
8. Don’t Out­source Your Brain. Not to media per­son­al­i­ties, not to politi­cians, not to your smart neigh­bour… Make your own deci­sions, and mis­takes. And learn from them. That way, you are train­ing your brain, not your neighbour’s.
9. Develop and main­tain stim­u­lat­ing friend­ships. We are “social ani­mals”, and need social inter­ac­tion. Which, by the way, is why ‘Baby Ein­stein’ has been shown not to be the panacea for chil­dren development.
10. Laugh. Often. Espe­cially to cog­ni­tively com­plex humor, full of twists and sur­prises. Bet­ter, try to become the next Jon Stewart

Now, remem­ber that what counts is not read­ing this article-or any other-, but prac­tic­ing a bit every day until small steps snow­ball into unstop­pable, inter­nal­ized habits…so, pick your next bat­tle and try to start improv­ing at least one of these 10 habits today. Revisit the habit above that really grabbed your atten­tion, click on the link to learn more, and make a deci­sion to try some­thing dif­fer­ent today!

Source: http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/08/22/10-habits-of-highly-effective-brains/

How can I improve concentration and memory?

Atten­tion (or con­cen­tra­tion), and mem­ory are two men­tal skills directly related. In fact, many mem­ory com­plaints have noth­ing to do with the actual abil­ity to remem­ber things. They come from a fail­ure to focus prop­erly on the task at hand.

Take the exam­ple of not remem­ber­ing where you parked your car after shop­ping at the mall… It is likely that you did not pay much atten­tion to where you parked the car in the first place, thus leav­ing your brain with few oppor­tu­ni­ties to reg­is­ter any infor­ma­tion that could be recalled later to help you find your car. The same rea­son­ing goes for not remem­ber­ing where we put our glasses!

Many of our actions are per­formed auto­mat­i­cally. By oppo­si­tion, focus­ing atten­tion is effort­ful. As you know, with age the brain needs more time to process infor­ma­tion.  Along with speed of pro­cess­ing, other brain func­tions decline. A cru­cial one is the abil­ity to focus and ignore distraction.

As we age it thus get harder and harder to pay atten­tion. But focus­ing our atten­tion on the task at hand is key for bet­ter mem­ory per­for­mance. What can we do then to improve con­cen­tra­tion and memory?

One gen­eral solu­tion is to keep the brain healthy. This can be done by adher­ing to the main pil­lars of brain health and main­te­nance: bal­anced diet, phys­i­cal exer­cise, cog­ni­tive stim­u­la­tion, stress man­age­ment, and social engage­ment.

How to improve concentration

• Focus on the task at hand: If talk­ing with some­one: ask ques­tions; if read­ing a book or a report: ask your­self how you would sum­ma­rize what you just read to a friend or to your boss.

• In gen­eral, avoid and/or elim­i­nate dis­trac­tions. Tune out every­thing else. The harder the task, the more impor­tant it is to tune out distractions.

• Do not try to double-task, this will increase your errors and divide your atten­tion. Atten­tion is lim­ited. When you try to do sev­eral things at once, you nec­es­sar­ily have to divide your atten­tion and thus con­cen­trate less on each indi­vid­ual tasks.

• Use med­i­ta­tion. Sev­eral stud­ies have shown that med­i­ta­tion can be a good brain train­ing tool that affects espe­cially atten­tional / con­cen­tra­tion skills.

How to improve memory

• Pay atten­tion and con­cen­trate! (see above)

• Relate to the infor­ma­tion you are learn­ing. The more per­sonal the infor­ma­tion becomes, the eas­ier it is to remem­ber it. Ask your­self how it makes you feel. Ask your­self where else you have heard this. Ask your­self whether there is some­thing in your per­sonal life related to this piece of information.

• Repeat the infor­ma­tion: Come back to it more than one time. This has been found in tons of stud­ies: repeated infor­ma­tion is eas­ier to recall. Spaced retrieval (a method with which a per­son is cued to recall a piece of infor­ma­tion at dif­fer­ent inter­vals) is one of the rare meth­ods that show some results with Alzheimer’s patients.

• Elab­o­rate on the infor­ma­tion: think about it. Things that are con­crete and have a clear mean­ing are eas­ier to remem­ber than abstract and vague ones. Try­ing to attach mean­ing to the infor­ma­tion you are try­ing to mem­o­rize will make it eas­ier to recall later. Your brain will have more cues to look for. For instance, try to pic­ture the infor­ma­tion in your head. Pic­tures are much eas­ier to mem­o­rize than words. To remem­ber fig­ures and per­cent­ages it is much eas­ier to pic­ture these in a graph for instance. Relate the infor­ma­tion to some­thing you know already.

Let’s put it all together: Remem­ber­ing names

We often for­get names in the few sec­ond after we have heard them. Most of the time this phe­nom­e­non can be related to a lack of atten­tion or con­cen­tra­tion. It is also caused by the fact that names have no spe­cific mean­ing and are thus hard to mem­o­rize. Say you are intro­duced to Kim today:

1. Pay atten­tion to the name: Ask Kim to repeat her name if you have not heard it very well. Make a con­scious effort of try­ing to mem­o­rize the name: Focus on it (“Her name is Kim. I want to remem­ber it.”)

2. Relate to the name: What does this per­son make you feel like? Do you know some­one else named like this? Think about this other per­son. (“She seems quite ner­vous, I won­der why. She makes me feel a bit uneasy. Not at all like the other Kim I know from the gym.”)

3. Repeat the name: Use the name sev­eral times in the con­ver­sa­tion. (“What do you think of this, Kim?”) If applic­a­ble, use the person’s busi­ness card later on to read her name over and over.

4. Elab­o­rate on the name: Relate the name to pre­vi­ous infor­ma­tion (“Kim, as in Kim Wilde I used to lis­ten to when I was a kid. Well, she sure doesn’t look like Kim Wilde!”). Pic­ture her face later on in the day as you repeat her name.

Hope this helps!

Source:  http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/03/01/how-can-i-improve-my-concentration-and-my-memory/