Yoga to improve the digestive system
1. AGNISARA
This exercise helps prepare the abdomen for yoga practice. Forcefully expel air through your nose to empty your lungs. Next, move your stomach in and out. Do this several times and then breathe in. Repeat 3 to 5 times. If you find it difficult or uncomfortable to hold your breath, you can start by doing the exercise while breathing normally.
2. PAWAN MUKTA ASANA
This posture compresses the colon, stimulating the nerves to aid the digestive process. Lie on your back with your legs straight. Bring your right knee toward the right side of your ribcage. Meanwhile, squeeze your left leg, still straight, towards the floor and with your hands, pull your right shin down. Hold this position for 1 or 2 minutes, whatever is most comfortable for you. Then, gently return to the start and repeat the process on the opposite side.
3. ARDHA PAWAN MUKTA
This posture is excellent for releasing gas, thus eliminating bloating and discomfort. Start as you would with Pawan Mukta Asana, with one knee raised to your chest and then bend your right knee to the left while stretching your right arm to the right. If you want to stretch further, you can use your left hand to gently push your right knee further toward the floor. Breathe naturally and enjoy the feeling of this stretch for as long as is comfortable.
4. MARJARYASANA OR CAT POSE
In addition to being a good stretch for the back, this position massages the organs in the belly, which activates and stimulates them. Start with your hands and knees on the floor, on all fours. Make sure your knees are directly below your hips and that your wrists, elbows and shoulders are aligned and perpendicular to the floor. Place your head in a comfortable position, with your eyes looking at the floor. As you exhale, curve your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Relax your head and tilt it towards the floor, but without forcing your chin towards your chest. Take a breath, returning to the starting position.
5. SALABHASANA OR LOBSTER POSE
This posture helps a variety of discomforts such as fatigue, flatulence, constipation, indigestion and back pain. Lie face down with your arms close to your body. Squeeze your glutes and, as you breathe in, lift your head, torso, arms and legs off the ground. Keep your big toes facing each other. Count to 5 and expel the air, relaxing the body.
6. DHANURASANA OR BOW POSTURE (see Swamiji’s photo above)
This posture can relieve constipation but also helps with back pain, respiratory illnesses and menstrual cramps. In the same position as the locust pose, bend your knees and hold your ankles or feet. Squeeze your glutes and as you breathe in, lift your head, torso, arms and legs, away from the ground. Gently pull your ankles/feet to create an arch shape with your body. When you are in this position, your breath can be used to create a sway that will stimulate the digestive tract. After breathing in and out 5 times, gently release your legs and arms.
7. ASHWINI MUDRA
This exercise improves stomach health and relieves bloating. This posture also has beneficial results for the hormonal system, specifically the thyroid gland. It is believed to balance the nervous, digestive, circulatory and reproductive systems of our body. Sit upright but relaxed and breathe normally. Now contract your sphincter muscles and hold for 10 seconds. Then relax your muscles slowly and breathe. Repeat as many times as is comfortable.
8. UDDIYANA BHANDA OR ABDOMINAL LOCK
This posture strengthens the abdominal muscles and the diaphragm. It also improves digestion, assimilation and elimination. While standing, expel the air completely through your nose. Holding your breath, expand your rib cage as if you were inhaling, but do not inhale anything. This will pull your abdominal muscles in and up, forming a concavity in your belly. This is Uddiyana Bhanda. Hold for 15 seconds (less if you feel discomfort) and then relax your muscles, letting them return to their original position. Do this up to 10 times, depending on your ability.
9. SHAVASANA OR RELAXATION POSTURE
Also known as the “corpse pose”, it is the best way to end this yoga practice for digestion. Lie on your back, with your legs and arms stretched and relaxed. Relax all your muscles and breathe smoothly and normally. Close your eyes and hold this position for at least 5 minutes. This posture relaxes our brain and our body.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is improved concentration and increased patience.
Patience is something that many people today do not have. Society has created a cycle of impatience – we want everything instantly, including mindfulness. Our minds have become so weak that we have wanted to create something new. But true mindfulness is nothing new. It is a wisdom that we learn with patience, concentration and through meditation.
People today don’t deal with the real problem. We’re looking for a quick fix, and that’s never going to work.
The real problem is our inability to have a single goal in life. Every time a new situation appears in our lives, we must reinvent ourselves to adapt. For example, when we get married, we adapt; When we get a new job, we adapt.
People sometimes ask me what mindfulness, or mindful living, is. You live consciously when your regrets from the past and your worries about the future do not interfere with your present.
When you are free from thoughts of the past and future, and live in the moment – this is conscious living.
The challenge comes when these new situations appear in our lives, since we have not been taught to be flexible. We have learned to have rigid thinking; to operate mechanically and with instructions.
We have never been trained to think flexibly.
Which is worrying because the only thing that is certain in life is change. Living consciously requires practice. To achieve true mindfulness, your mind must be fully developed. And not only in the area in which you have trained (where you have the most experience or success), but in all areas of your life.
To develop your mind, you need to deal with incomplete problems. This is achieved through meditation. It takes us 23 minutes to process all our thoughts, so if you meditate for 23 minutes, you will have processed one cycle of thoughts. Just like a washing machine, some things need a 23-minute cycle to process, and others need more. When you practice shorter meditations – some old thoughts appear – but you are not allowing enough time to process them fully. We recommend a minimum of 25 minutes to meditate and process your thoughts. If you meditate less than that you are not completing the cycle, so it alters what helps.
It is important to practice this as we have a limit, and if we do not deal with our incomplete problems – our mind can become upset. When this happens we can feel all kinds of negative emotions or a general dissatisfaction with life. Plus, we feel the pressure of having to deal with all of our incomplete problems at once.
True mindfulness is when you are able to see balance and contentment in your life.
Living in the moment can only be achieved through a connection with the soul. That’s the key.
Sri Swami Purohit
The importance of detachment
People often ask me how I can live a life without limits. The answer is simple: learning to detach is the secret. Detachment from energy, emotion and material goods.
Detachment happens when you are completely self-sufficient.
But we must not confuse detachment with not caring about things. We can still care, and when we listen to our hearts, we find ourselves in a state of pure love. Detachment takes practice. Detachment is a responsibility that, when practiced, will teach you not to ask for anything in return.
What is attachment?
Attachment is when we depend on things or other people for our happiness. When we do this, if things don’t go the way we wanted, we will encounter disappointment, failure, or pain. Let’s look at a simple example: if we like chocolate we can eat it and enjoy it when it is available. However, if chocolate is not available, it will not affect us or put us in a bad mood. This is detachment.
We are all conditioned by our past. If we have been denied something in our past, that same thing attracts us. We believe that this thing will give us happiness. For example; If you have always wanted to live in a big house (because during childhood you lived in a small one) your way to success would be to live in a big house, especially if you were unhappy during your childhood. So, living in a big house appeals to us because we have never done it and we think it will give us happiness.
We set goals, sometimes unattainable, and we stick to them. We think that everything will be solved with that thing we want. Getting attached or obsessed with having something that you think will give you permanent happiness is only going to cause recklessness, obsession, confusion and it will become the only thing you think about.
When we lose that thing we have become obsessed with, we believe that we have lost everything, that our world has ended. We can enter a spiral of fear, doubt and self-sabotage, without being able to see beyond. We are unable to create a long-term plan.
Our human mind has conditioned us to measure our success with “things” that will give us happiness. When we strengthen our heart and mind, through practices such as meditation and breathing techniques (Pranayama), we gain clarity of thought through connection to the heart and clear mind.
When we pay attention to the wisdom of the heart we see life in its entirety instead of just one aspect.
Why is detachment so important?
When we look at life as a whole, whatever we do we will do it joyfully, because we will not be focused on one small aspect. When we do this and decide what we want to do with our life – what will make us happy and follow the plan – we probably won’t have a midlife crisis, wondering what went wrong. That’s because we made that decision with complete clarity.
When we have clarity of thought, we can choose the kind of life we want, a life that will bring us happiness, and then we can create a plan and follow it as best we can.
The secret is that while we make the plan, we should not get attached to the result and should only focus on executing it.
If we can focus on executing our plan without receiving anything in return, we will have achieved detachment.
When we achieve it – and expect nothing in return – we achieve true freedom and live without restriction.
Sri Swami Purohit
Ayurveda: Copper Bottles
Did you know that drinking water from a copper bottle is an ancient Ayurvedic practice? This copper water is considered medicinal and is known as “Tamra Jal”.
Copper is an essential micronutrient that is present in red blood cells. Thus, it is found within human organs with high metabolic capacity, such as the liver, kidneys, heart and brain. It is also part of the cells of the nervous system.
Copper is an important element for the proper functioning of many vital processes in the body and the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) has registered it as the only solid material that eliminates bacteria and protects our health.
Here we detail some of the many benefits of drinking water from a copper container:
- It can prevent osteoporosis.
- Purifies the blood and cleans the arteries.
- Promotes supple and softer skin (stimulates collagen production, reduces wrinkles).
- It has proven antioxidant properties that serve to slow down the aging process.
- Collaborates in the formation of red blood cells. Helps regulate the function of the thyroid gland.
- It may increase the body’s ability to absorb iron.
- It can reduce the appearance of varicose veins.
- Helps improve joint problems, such as arthritis.
- It is an excellent bactericide.
Are you interested in the benefits that the copper bottle can bring you? If so, you should know how to use it correctly:
First, make sure that the bottle you buy is of good quality and made of 100% copper, as some bottles contain other metals and these could be harmful to your health.
Before using the bottle for the first time, rinse it with warm water and a few drops of natural lemon juice. Do not use soap because it could affect the properties of the copper.
Fill the bottle with water and let it sit for 6 to 8 hours before drinking. The bottle should only be used for water, not tea or other liquids.
The water should be at room temperature, never hot or cold from the refrigerator; heat eliminates the fabulous qualities of copper.
We recommend refilling the bottle before going to bed at night so the water will be ready to drink in the morning.
It is not necessary to drink copper water throughout the day. As you know, the science of Ayurveda is based on balance and copper bottles are no exception. Filling the bottle once or twice a day is sufficient; You can carry the bottle with you, filling it when necessary.
We recommend not leaving the same water in the bottle for more than 8 or 9 hours. The copper will keep the bottle clean and bacteria-free, but if you leave the same water in too long, the copper taste can be too strong.