Women and beauty

PRESSURE POINT AND HEALTH

2007-11-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

Pressure point massages strive to release built up tension and strain in the body and muscles. Popular massage chairs capture this style of massage and combine it with Shiatsu massage to offer a superb, thoroughly relaxing experience. From a medical perspective and massage technique standpoint, pressure point massages stem from the science of focusing upon main and collateral channels of human body.

The traditional Chinese medical science states that the back of human body is Yang of Yang, where Du impulse and Zhu Tai Yang bladder channels follow through. Du impulse supervises Yang of the body. Tai Yang channels manage the surface of human body. Numerous acupuncture points are distributed along the two sides of the spine and at the back. Massaging the back can stimulate these pressure points, Du impulse and Tai Yang channels, and inspires Yang Qi of the whole body. Pressure point massages' function to balance Yin and Yang, supporting the healthy factors and removing the pathogenic factors, regulating Qi and blood, dredging the main and collateral channels of the body and enhancing the functions of internal organs.

From the point of view of modern medicine, massaging the shoulder and back can dilate blood vessels of the body surface, remarkably improve blood circulation, enhance metabolism of the human body, relax tired muscles and greatly benefits health of the body. Medical professors point out; there exists a special kind of cell under the skin of the human body. The cell is in dormancy state at ordinary times. When the back is kneaded or rubbed, this kind of cell is stimulated and gets active. It goes into the blood and develops into reticular cells, which can remarkably strengthen the immunity function of human body and boost up the disease-resisting ability of human body.

Status of Women in India

2007-11-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

The persistence of hunger and abject poverty in India and other parts of the world is due in large measure to the subjugation, marginalization and disempowerment of women. Women suffer from hunger and poverty in greater numbers and to a great degree then men. At the same time, it is women who bear the primary responsibility for actions needed to end hunger: education, nutrition, health and family income.
Looking through the lens of hunger and poverty, there are seven major areas of discrimination against women in India:

Malnutrition: India has exceptionally high rates of child malnutrition, because tradition in India requires that women eat last and least throughout their lives, even when pregnant and lactating. Malnourished women give birth to malnourished children, perpetuating the cycle.

Poor Health: Females receive less health care than males. Many women die in childbirth of easily prevented complications. Working conditions and environmental pollution further impairs women's health.

Lack of education: Families are far less likely to educate girls than boys, and far more likely to pull them out of school, either to help out at home or from fear of violence.

Overwork: Women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men's, yet their work is unrecognized. Men report that "women, like children, eat and do nothing." Technological progress in agriculture has had a negative impact on women

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Unskilled: In women's primary employment sector - agriculture - extension services overlook women.

Mistreatment: In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India, in terms of rapes, assaults and dowry-related murders. Fear of violence suppresses the aspirations of all women. Female infanticide and sex-selective abortions are additional forms of violence that reflect the devaluing of females in Indian society

Powerlessness: While women are guaranteed equality under the constitution, legal protection has little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions. Women lack power to decide who they will marry, and are often married off as children. Legal loopholes are used to deny women inheritance rights.
India has a long history of activism for women's welfare and rights, which has increasingly focused on women's economic rights. A range of government programs have been launched to increase economic opportunity for women, although there appear to be no existing programs to address the cultural and traditional discrimination against women that leads to her abject conditions.

The Inextricable Link
The greatest tragedy facing humanity today is the persistence of chronic hunger — an intolerable phenomenon that takes the lives of 24,000 of us every day. For fully one-fifth of humanity, life is a daily struggle to survive in conditions of relentless poverty. Day after day, the lives of one billion individuals are cut short or terribly diminished by chronic, persistent hunger. Day after day, one billion people are denied the opportunities they need to lead healthy and productive lives.

People living with chronic hunger exist in conditions of severe poverty. What they lack is the chance to change their situation, to develop their own self-sufficiency. The most potent confirmation of this fact can be seen in the lives of women. They, along with their children, are the main victims of hunger, and they are also most lacking in opportunities to end their own and their families’ hunger.

The Hunger Project has come to the recognition that the persistence of hunger in India — and elsewhere in the world where hunger is still an overriding social issue — is, to a large degree, due to the subjugation, marginalization and disempowerment of women. Furthermore, women’s suppression is rooted in the very fabric of Indian society — in traditions, in religious doctrine and practices, within the educational and legal systems, and within families.

Ironically, much of the essential work of ending hunger rests in women’s hands.

Traditionally, women bear primary responsibility for the well-being of their families. Yet they are systematically denied access to the resources they need to fulfill their responsibility, which includes education, health care services, job training, and access and freedom to use family planning services.

In order to gain a shared understanding of the condition of the status of women in India and its impact on the persistence of hunger, this document surveys papers done by leading scholars in Indian development issues. It is organized in a framework of seven issues that characterize the plight of resource-poor women, with a focus on rural women, in India: malnutrition, poor health, lack of education, overwork, lack of skills, mistreatment and powerlessness.

The link between these issues and the persistence of hunger in India was underscored in a 1996 study: The Asian Enigma, by Vulimiri Ramalingaswami:

In short, the poor care that is afforded to girls and women by their husbands and by elders is the first major reason for levels of child malnutrition that are markedly higher in South Asia than anywhere else in the world.

India: An Overview

India, with a population of 989 million, is the world’s second most populous country. Of that number, 120 million are women who live in poverty.

India has 16 percent of the world’s population, but only 2.4 percent of its land, resulting in great pressures on its natural resources.

Over 70 percent of India’s population currently derive their livelihood from land resources, which includes 84 percent of the economically-active women.

India is one of the few countries where males significantly outnumber females, and this imbalance has increased over time. India’s maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the world’s highest. From a global perspective, Indian accounts for 19 percent of all lives births and 27 percent of all maternal deaths.

"There seems to be a consensus that higher female mortality between ages one and five and high maternal mortality rates result in a deficit of females in the population. Chatterjee (1990) estimates that deaths of young girls in India exceed those of young boys by over 300,000 each year, and every sixth infant death is specifically due to gender discrimination." Of the 15 million baby girls born in India each year, nearly 25 percent will not live to see their 15th birthday.

"Although India was the first country to announce an official family planning program in 1952, its population grew from 361 million in 1951 to 844 million in 1991. India’s total fertility rate of 3.8 births per woman can be considered moderate by world standards, but the sheer magnitude of population increase has resulted in such a feeling of urgency that containment of population growth is listed as one of the six most important objectives in the Eighth Five-Year Plan."

Since 1970, the use of modern contraceptive methods has risen from 10 percent to 40 percent, with great variance between northern and southern India. The most striking aspect of contraceptive use in India is the predominance of sterilization, which accounts for more than 85 percent of total modern contraception use, with female sterilization accounting for 90 percent of all sterilizations.

The Indian constitution grants women equal rights with men, but strong patriarchal traditions persist, with women’s lives shaped by customs that are centuries old. In most Indian families, a daughter is viewed as a liability, and she is conditioned to believe that she is inferior and subordinate to men. Sons are idolized and celebrated. May you be the mother of a hundred sons is a common Hindu wedding blessing.

The origin of the Indian idea of appropriate female behavior can be traced to the rules laid down by Manu in 200 B.C.: "by a young girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently, even in her own house". "In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent."

A study of women in the Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), based in 20 villages in four districts in Maharashtra state was introduced in this way:

The primary issue all women in the SSP were struggling with was that of everyday survival. Insufficient incomes and the lack of employment were reported to be their most pressing concerns. Survival is a constant preoccupation and at its most basic, survival means food (Chambers 1983). The most common problems were the lack of basic amenities such as food, water, fuel, fodder and health facilities. In addition, the deterioration of the natural environment and the fact that many of their traditional occupations were no longer viable were conditions that were making it increasingly hard for women to continue sustaining their families, as they had done in the past.

SSP is a loose, informal network of women’s collectives, voluntary organizations, action groups and unions.

WOMEN ARE MALNOURISHED

The exceptionally high rates of malnutrition in South Asia are rooted deeply in the soil of inequality between men and women.

"…the poor care that is afforded to girls and women by their husbands and by elders is the first major reason for levels of child malnutrition that are markedly higher in South Asia than anywhere else in the world."

This point is made in the article, The Asian Enigma, published by Unicef in the 1996 Progress of Nations, in which the rates of childhood malnutrition in South Asia are compared with those in Africa. We learn that malnutrition is far worse in South Asia, directly due to the fact that women in South Asia have less voice and freedom of movement than in Africa. "Judgement and self-expression and independence largely denied, millions of women in South Asia have neither the knowledge nor the means nor the freedom to act in their own and their children’s best interests."

"Gender disparities in nutrition are evident from infancy to adulthood. In fact, gender has been the most statistically significant determinant of malnutrition among young children and malnutrition is a frequent direct or underlying cause of death among girls below age 5. Girls are breast-fed less frequently and for shorter durations in infancy; in childhood and adulthood, males are fed first and better. Adult women consume approximately 1,000 fewer calories per day than men according to one estimate from Punjab. Comparison of household dietary intake studies in different parts of the country shows that nutritional equity between males and females is lower in northern than in southern states."

Nutritional deprivation has two major consequences for women: they never reach their full growth potential and anaemia. Both are risk factors in pregnancy, with anaemia ranging from 40-50 percent in urban areas to 50-70 percent in rural areas. This condition complicates childbearing and result in maternal and infant deaths, and low birth weight infants.
One study found anaemia in over 95 percent of girls ages 6-14 in Calcutta, around 67 percent in the Hyderabad area, 73 percent in the New Delhi area, and about 18 percent in the Madras area. This study states, "The prevalence of anaemia among women ages 15-24 and 25-44 years follows similar patterns and levels. Besides posing risks during pregnancy, anaemia increases women’s susceptibility to diseases such as tuberculosis and reduces the energy women have available for daily activities such as household chores, child care, and agricultural labor. Any severely anaemic individual is taxed by most physical activities, including walking at an ordinary pace.

WOMEN ARE IN POOR HEALTH

Surviving through a normal life cycle is a resource-poor woman’s greatest challenge.
"The practice of breast-feeding female children for shorter periods of time reflects the strong desire for sons. If women are particularly anxious to have a male child, they may deliberately try to become pregnant again as soon as possible after a female is born. Conversely, women may consciously seek to avoid another pregnancy after the birth of a male child in order to give maximum attention to the new son."
A primary way that parents discriminate against their girl children is through neglect during illness. When sick, little girls are not taken to the doctor as frequently as are their brothers. A study in Punjab shows that medical expenditures for boys are 2.3 times higher than for girls.
As adults, women get less health care than men. They tend to be less likely to admit that they are sick and they’ll wait until their sickness has progressed before they seek help or help is sought for them. Studies on attendance at rural primary health centers reveal that more males than females are treated in almost all parts of the country, with differences greater in northern hospitals than southern ones, pointing to regional differences in the value placed on women. Women’s socialization to tolerate suffering and their reluctance to be examined by male personnel are additional constraints in their getting adequate health care.

Maternal Mortality

India’s maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the highest in the world.
A factor that contributes to India’s high maternal mortality rate is the reluctance to seek medical care for pregnancy — it is viewed as a temporary condition that will disappear. The estimates nationwide are that only 40-50 percent of women receive any antenatal care. Evidence from the states of Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat find registration for maternal and child health services to be as low as 5-22 percent in rural areas and 21-51 percent in urban areas.

Even a woman who has had difficulties with previous pregnancies is usually treated with home remedies only for three reasons: the decision that a pregnant woman seek help rests with the mother-in-law and husband; financial considerations; and fear that the treatment may be more harmful than the malady.

It is estimated that pregnancy-related deaths account for one-quarter of all fatalities among women aged 15 to 29, with well over two-thirds of them considered preventable. For every maternal death in India, an estimated 20 more women suffer from impaired health. One village-level study of rural women in Maharashtra determined on the basis of physical examinations that some 92 percent suffered from one or more gynecological disorder.

Contraception Use

Women’s health is harmed by lack of access to and the poor quality of reproductive services.
"About 24.6 million couples, representing roughly 18 percent of all married women, want no more children but are not using contraception. (Operations Research Group, 1990). The causes of this unmet need remain poorly understood, but a qualitative study in Tamil Nadu suggests that women’s lack of decision-making power in the family, opportunity costs involved in seeking contraception, fear of child death, and poor quality of contraceptive service all play an important role." (Ravindran 1993).

Some estimates suggest that some 5 million abortions are performed annually in India, with the large majority being illegal. As a result, abortion-related mortality is high. Although abortion has been legal since 1972 in India, "studies suggest that although official policy seeks to make pregnancy-termination services widely available, in practice guidelines on abortion limit access to services, particularly in rural areas. In 1981, of the 6,200 physicians trained to perform abortions, only 1,600 were working in rural areas."

Job impact on Maternal Health

Working conditions result in premature and stillbirths.

The tasks performed by women are usually those that require them to be in one position for long periods of time, which can adversely affect their reproductive health. A study in a rice-growing belt of coastal Maharashtra found that 40 percent of all infant deaths occurred in the months of July to October. The study also found that a majority of births were either premature or stillbirths. The study attributed this to the squatting position that had to be assumed during July and August, the rice transplanting months.
Impact of Pollution on Women
Women’s health is further harmed by air and water pollution and lack of sanitation.

The impact of pollution and industrial wastes on health is considerable. In Environment, Development and the Gender Gap, Sandhya Venkateswaran asserts that "the high incidence of malnutrition present amongst women and their low metabolism and other health problems affect their capacity to deal with chemical stress. The smoke from household biomass (made up of wood, dung and crop residues) stoves within a three-hour period is equivalent to smoking 20 packs of cigarettes. For women who spend at least three hours per day cooking, often in a poorly ventilated area, the impact includes eye problems, respiratory problems, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. One study quoted by WHO in 1991 found that pregnant women cooking over open biomass stoves had almost a 50 percent higher chance of stillbirth.

Anaemia makes a person more susceptible to carbon monoxide toxicity, which is one of the main pollutants in the biomass smoke. Given the number of Indian women who are anaemic — 25 to 30 percent in the reproductive age group and almost 50 percent in the third trimester — this adds to their vulnerability to carbon monoxide toxicity.

Additionally, with an increasing population, diseases caused by waste disposal, such as hookworm, are rampant. People who work barefooted are particularly susceptible, and it has been found that hookworm is directly responsible for the high percentage of anaemia among rural women.

WOMEN ARE UNEDUCATED
Women and girls receive far less education than men, due both to social norms and fears of violence.
India has the largest population of non-school-going working girls.

India’s constitution guarantees free primary school education for both boys and girls up to age 14. This goal has been repeatedly reconfirmed, but primary education in India is not universal. Overall, the literacy rate for women is 39 percent versus 64 percent for men. The rate for women in the four large northern states — Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — is lower than the national average: it was 25 percent in 1991. Attendance rates from the 1981 census suggest that no more than 1/3 of all girls (and a lower proportion of rural girls) aged 5-14 are attending school.

Although substantial progress has been achieved since India won its independence in 1947, when less than 8 percent of females were literate, the gains have not been rapid enough to keep pace with population growth: there were 16 million more illiterate females in 1991 than in 1981.

Sonalde Desai in Gender Inequalities and Demographic Behavior asserts that "parents’ reluctance to educate daughters has its roots in the situation of women. Parents have several incentives for not educating their daughters. Foremost is the view that education of girls brings no returns to parents and that their future roles, being mainly reproductive and perhaps including agricultural labor, require no formal education. As more and more boys are engaged in education, there is a growing reliance on the labor of girls. Girls are increasingly replacing their brothers on the farm while carrying on their usual responsibilities in housework. A large proportion of the roughly 40 million "nonworking" girls who are not in school are kept at home because of responsibilities in housework."

The role of parents is to deliver a chaste daughter to her husband’s family. Sonalde Desai goes on to point out that "another disincentive for sending daughters to school is a concern for the protection of their virginity. When schools are located at a distance, when teachers are male, and when girls are expected to study along with boys, parents are often unwilling to expose their daughters to the potential assault on their virginity."

There is little response to counter these obstacles: school hours remain inflexible to the labor demands of girls; many villages do not have a school; and fewer than 1/3 of India’s primary and middle-school teachers are women.

According to Mapping Progress, "educational funds were cut by 801.3 million rupees in the 1991-92 budget. Funds for the mass literacy movement, in which women participate enthusiastically, have been reduced by 5 percent from the previous year. Budgetary provisions for non-formal education have been cut by 17 percent, leading to closure of many night schools and adult education programs in which working-class women participate. Reduction in government expenditures on higher education and encouragement to private colleges will reduce women’s opportunities for higher education since privatization in education promotes only male-dominated professional and technical courses, as they are lucrative."

WOMEN ARE OVERWORKED

Women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men’s. Still, men report that "women, like children, eat and do nothing."
Hours worked
Women work roughly twice as many as many hours as men.

Women’s contribution to agriculture — whether it be subsistence farming or commercial agriculture — when measured in terms of the number of tasks performed and time spent, is greater than men. "The extent of women’s contribution is aptly highlighted by a micro study conducted in the Indian Himalayas which found that on a one-hectare farm, a pair of bullocks works 1,064 hours, a man 1,212 hours and a woman 3,485 hours in a year."

In Andhra Pradesh, (Mies 1986) found that the work day of an woman agricultural labourer during the agricultural season lasts for 15 hours, from 4 am to 8 pm, with an hour’s rest in between. Her male counterpart works for seven to eight hours, from 5 am to 10 am or 11 am and from 3 pm to 5 pm.

Another study on time and energy spent by men and women on agricultural work (Batliwala 1982) found that 53 percent of the total human hours per household are contributed by women as compared to 31 percent by men. The remaining contribution comes from children.
The linking of agricultural activities to male dominance is described by Roy Burman (in Menon 1991):

The anxiety of man to monopolize his skill in plough culture is reflected in the taboo that is observed almost all over India, against the women’s handling the plough. In many societies, she is not even allowed to touch it.

Mies further observed that "whereas operations performed by men were those that entailed the use of machinery and draught animals, thereby using animal, hydraulic, mechanical or electrical energy, women almost always relied on manual labour, using only their own energy." Rice transplantations, the most arduous and labour intensive task in rice cultivation, is carried out entirely by women without the help of any tools.

"Girls learn to assist their mothers in almost all tasks, and from the age of 10 years participate fully in the agricultural work done by women. Mies cites the case of Laxmi, a three-year-old infant who, along with her mother, pulled seedlings for transplanting. Boys on the other hand were seldom seen transplanting or weeding though they did help out in ploughing or watering the fields."

"Not only do women perform more tasks, their work is also more arduous than that undertaken by men. Both transplantation and weeding require women to spend the whole day and work in muddy soil with their hands. Moreover, they work the entire day under the intensely hot sun while men’s work, such as ploughing and watering the fields, is invariably carried out early in the morning before the sun gets too hot. Mies argues that because women’s work, unlike men’s, does not involve implements and is based largely on human energy, it is considered unskilled and hence less productive. On this basis, women are invariably paid lower wages, despite the fact that they work harder and for longer hours than do men."

In contrast, a study in Uttar Pradesh reports that men "only reluctantly conceded that their womenfolk really work. The researchers in this area were repeatedly told that women, like children, simply eat food and do nothing."

The invisibility of women’s work
Women’s work is rarely recognized.

Many maintain that women’s economic dependence on men impacts their power within the family. With increased participation in income-earning activities, not only will there be more income for the family, but gender inequality should be reduced. This issue is particularly salient in India because studies show a very low level of female participation in the labor force. This under-reporting is attributed to the frequently held view that women’s work is not economically productive.

In a report of the National Commission on Self-Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector, the director of social welfare in one state said, "There are no women in any unorganized sector in our state." When the Commission probed and asked, "Are there any women who go to the forest to collect firewood? Do any of the women in rural areas have cattle?" the director responded with, "Of course, there are many women doing that type of work." Working women are invisible to most of the population.

If all activities — including maintenance of kitchen gardens and poultry, grinding food grains, collecting water and firewood, etc. — are taken into account, then 88 percent of rural housewives and 66 percent of urban housewives can be considered as economically productive.
Women’s employment in family farms or businesses is rarely recognized as economically productive, either by men or women. And, any income generated from this work is generally controlled by the men. Such work is unlikely to increase women’s participation in allocating family finances. In a 1992 study of family-based texile workers, male children who helped in a home-based handloom mill were given pocket money, but the adult women and girls were not.

The impact of technology on women
The shift from subsistence to a market economy has a dramatic negative impact on women.
According to Sandhya Venkateswaran, citing Shiva, the Green Revolution, which focused on increasing yields of rice and wheat, entailed a shift in inputs from human to technical. Women’s participation, knowledge and inputs were marginalized, and their role shift from being "primary producers to subsidiary workers."

Where technology has been introduced in areas where women worked, women labourers have often been displaced by men. Threshing of grain was almost exclusively a female task, and with the introduction of automatic grain threshers — which are only operated by men — women have lost an important source of income.

Combine harvesters leave virtually no residue. This means that this source of fodder is no longer available to women, which has a dramatic impact on women’s workload. So too, as cattle dung is being used as fertilizer, there is less available for fuel for cooking.
"Commercialization and the consequent focus on cash crops has led to a situation where food is lifted straight from the farm to the market. The income accrued is controlled by men. Earlier, most of the produce was brought home and stored, and the women exchanged it for other commodities. Such a system vested more control with the women."

WOMEN ARE UNSKILLED
Women have unequal access to resources.
Extension services tend to reach only men, which perpetuates the existing division of labour in the agricultural sector, with women continuing to perform unskilled tasks. A World Bank study in 1991 reveals that the assumption made by extension workers is that information within a family will be transmitted to the women by the men, which in actual practice seldom happens. "The male dominated extension system tends to overlook women’s role in agriculture and proves ineffective in providing technical information to women farmers."

Mapping Progress, states, "in the farm sector, the process of mechanization of agricultural activities has brought in tendencies for gender discrimination by replacing men for a number of activities performed by women and also by displacing the labor of women from subsistence and marginal households. Women are employed only when there is absolute shortage of labor and for specific operations like cotton-picking.

"To supply food-processing industries being set up with foreign collaboration, there has already been a major shift from subsistence farming method of rice, millet, corn and wheat to cash-crop production of fruit, mushrooms, flowers and vegetables. This shift has led to women being the first to lose jobs."

A number of factors perpetuate women’s limited job skills: if training women for economic activities requires them to leave their village, this is usually a problem for them. Unequal access to education restricts women’s abilities to learn skills that require even functional levels of literacy. In terms of skill development, women are impeded by their lack of mobility, low literacy levels and prejudiced attitudes toward women. When women negotiate with banks and government officials, they are often ostracized by other men and women in their community for being ‘too forward.’ Government and bank officials have preconceived ideas of what women are capable of , and stereotypes of what is considered women’s work.

WOMEN ARE MISTREATED
Violence against women and girls is the most pervasive human rights violation in the world today.

Opening the door on the subject of violence against the world’s females is like standing at the threshold of an immense dark chamber vibrating with collective anguish, but with the sounds of protest throttled back to a murmur. Where there should be outrage aimed at an intolerable status quo there is instead denial, and the largely passive acceptance of ‘the way things are.’

Male violence against women is a worldwide phenomenon. Although not every woman has experienced it, and many expect not to, fear of violence is an important factor in the lives of most women. It determines what they do, when they do it, where they do it, and with whom. Fear of violence is a cause of women’s lack of participation in activities beyond the home, as well as inside it. Within the home, women and girls may be subjected to physical and sexual abuse as punishment or as culturally justified assaults. These acts shape their attitude to life, and their expectations of themselves.

The insecurity outside the household is today the greatest obstacle in the path of women. Conscious that, compared to the atrocities outside the house, atrocities within the house are endurable, women not only continued to accept their inferiority in the house and society, but even called it sweet.

In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in atrocities against women in India. Every 26 minutes a woman is molested. Every 34 minutes a rape takes place. Every 42 minutes a sexual harassment incident occurs. Every 43 minutes a woman is kidnapped. And every 93 minutes a woman is burnt to death over dowry.
One-quarter of the reported rapes involve girls under the age of 16 but the vast majority are never reported. Although the penalty is severe, convictions are rare.

Selective Abortions

The most extreme expression of the preference for sons is female infanticide and sex-selective abortion.

A study of amniocentesis in a Bombay hospital found that 96 percent of female fetuses were aborted, compared with only a small percentage of male fetuses.
"Government officials event suspect that the disproportionate abortion of female fetuses may be a major underlying cause of the recent decline in the nation’s sex ratio. In 1971 there were 930 females for every 1,000 males. A decade later this figure had increased to 934, but by 1991, instead of continuing to rise, the ratio dropped to 927, lower than the 1971 figure. This sex ratio is one of the lowest in the world."
Sonalda Desai reports that there are posters in Bombay advertising sex-determination tests that read, "It is better to pay 500 Rs. now than 50,000 Rs. (in dowry) later."
Government has passed legislation to curb the misuse of amniocentesis for sex selection and abortion of female fetuses. Women activists have been critical of this act because of its provision that calls for punishing the women who seek the procedure. These women may be under pressure to bear a male child.

WOMEN ARE POWERLESS
Legal protection of women’s rights have little effect in the face of prevailing patriarchal traditions.

Marriage:
Women are subordinate in most marriages.
Exposure to and interactions with the outside world are instrumental in determining the possibilities available to women in their daily lives. The situation of women is affected by the degree of their autonomy or capacity to make decisions both inside and outside their own household.

"The position of women in northern India is notably poor. Traditional Hindu society in northern rural areas is hierarchical and dominated by men, as evidenced by marriage customs. North Indian Hindus are expected to marry within prescribed boundaries: the bride and groom must not be related, they have no say in the matter, and the man must live outside the woman’s natal village.

"Wife givers" are socially and ritually inferior to "wife takers", thus necessitating the provision of a dowry. After marriage, the bride moves in with her husband’s family. Such a bride is "a stranger in a strange place." They are controlled by the older females in the household, and their behavior reflects on the honor of their husbands. Because emotional ties between spouses are considered a potential threat to the solidarity of the patrilineal group, the northern system tends to segregate the sexes and limit communication between spouses — a circumstance that has direct consequences for family planning and similar "modern" behaviors that affect health. A young Indian bride is brought up to believe that her own wishes and interests are subordinate to those of her husband and his family. The primary duty of a newly married young woman, and virtually her only means of improving her position in the hierarchy of her husband’s household, is to bear sons."

Sonalde Desai points out that the perception that sons are the major source of economic security in old age is so strong in the north that "many parents, while visiting their married daughters, do not accept food or other hospitality from them. However, given women’s low independent incomes and lack of control over their earnings, few can provide economic support to their parents even if parents were willing to accept it."

In the south, in contrast, a daughter traditionally marries her mother’s brother or her mother’s brother’s son (her first cousin). Such an arrangement has a dramatic impact on women. "In southern India, men are likely to marry women to whom they are related, so that the strict distinction found in the north between patrilineal and marital relatives is absent. Women are likely to be married into family households near their natal homes, and are more likely to retain close relationships with their natal kin."

"Over the past several decades, however, marriage patterns have changed markedly. Social, economic, and demographic developments have made marriages between close relatives less common, and the bride price has given way to a dowry system akin to that in the north. Nevertheless, as long as the underlying ethic of marriage in the south remains the reinforcement of existing kinship ties, the relatively favorable situation of southern Indian women is unlikely to be threatened."

Child Marriages
Child marriages keep women subjugated.

A 1976 amendment to the Child Marriage Restraint Act raised the minimum legal age for marriage from 15 to 18 for young women and from 18 to 21 for young men. However, in many rural communities, illegal child marriages are still common. In some rural areas, nearly half the girls between 10 and 14 are married. Because there is pressure on women to prove their fertility by conceiving as soon as possible after marriage, adolescent marriage is synonymous with adolescent childbearing: roughly 10-15 percent of all births take place to women in their teens.
A May 1998 article in the New York Times states:

Child marriages contribute to virtually every social malaise that keeps India behind in women’s rights. The problems include soaring birth rates, grinding poverty and malnutrition, high illiteracy and infant mortality and low life expectancy, especially among rural women.

The article cites a 1993 survey of more than 5,000 women in Rajasthan, which showed that 56 percent of them had married before they were 15. Barely 18 percent of them were literate and only 3 percent used any form of birth control other than sterilization. Sixty-three percent of the children under age 4 of these women were severely undernourished.
"Each year, formal warnings are posted outside state government offices stating that child marriages are illegal, but they have little impact."

One man interviewed for the article has seven daughters. He borrowed some 60,000 rupees to pay for the dowries for six of his daughters, ranging in age from 4-14. He reported that "the weddings mean that he can now look forward to growing old without being trapped in the penury by the need to support his daughters." (NYT)

Dowries:
Women are kept subordinate, and are even murdered, by the practice of dowry.

In India, 6,000 dowry murders are committed each year. This reality exists even though the Dowry Prohibition Act has been in existence for 33 years, and there are virtually no arrests under the Act. Since those giving as well as those accepting dowry are punishable under the existing law, no one is willing to complain. It is only after a "dowry death" that the complaints become public. It is estimated that the average dowry today is equivalent to five times the family’s annual income and that the high cost of weddings and dowries is a major cause of indebtedness among India’s poor.

A December 1997 article in India Today, entitled, Victims of Sudden Affluence states, "A woman on fire has made dowry deaths the most vicious of social crimes; it is an evil endemic to the subcontinent but despite every attempt at justice the numbers have continued to climb. With get-rich-quick becoming the new mantra, dowry became the perfect instrument for upward material mobility." A study done by a policy think-tank, the Institute of Development and Communication, states, "the quantum of dowry exchange may still be greater among the upper classes, but 80 percent of dowry deaths and 80 percent of dowry harassment occurs in the middle and lower stratas."

The article goes on to state, "So complete is the discrimination among women that the gender bias is extended even toward the guilty. In a bizarre trend, the onus of murder is often put on the women to protect the men. Sometimes it is by consent. Often, old mothers-in-law embrace all the blame to bail out their sons and husbands."
Despite every stigma, dowry continues to be the signature of marriage. Says Rainuka Dagar, "It is taken as a normative custom and dowry harassment as a part of family life."

Divorce:
Divorce is not a viable option.

Divorce is rare — it is a considered a shameful admission of a woman’s failure as a wife and daughter-in-law. In 1990, divorced women made up a miniscule 0.08 percent of the total female population.

Maintenance rights of women in the case of divorce are weak. Although both Hindu and Muslim law recognize the rights of women and children to maintenance, in practice, maintenance is rarely set at a sufficient amount and is frequently violated.

Both Hindu and Muslim personal laws fail to recognize matrimonial property. Upon divorce, women have no rights to their home or to other property accumulated during marriage; in effect, their contributions to the maintenance of the family and accumulation of family assets go unrecognized and unrewarded.

Inheritance
Women’s rights to inheritance are limited and frequently violated.

In the mid-1950s the Hindu personal laws, which apply to all Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, were overhauled, banning polygamy and giving women rights to inheritance, adoption and divorce. The Muslim personal laws differ considerably from that of the Hindus, and permit polygamy. Despite various laws protecting women’s rights, traditional patriarchal attitudes still prevail and are strengthened and perpetuated in the home.

Under Hindu law, sons have an independent share in the ancestral property. However, daughters’ shares are based on the share received by their father. Hence, a father can effectively disinherit a daughter by renouncing his share of the ancestral property, but the son will continue to have a share in his own right. Additionally, married daughters, even those facing marital harassment, have no residential rights in the ancestral home.

Even the weak laws protecting women have not been adequately enforced. As a result, in practice, women continue to have little access to land and property, a major source of income and long-term economic security. Under the pretext of preventing fragmentation of agricultural holdings, several states have successfully excluded widows and daughters from inheriting

agricultural land.
Women in Public Office (Revised May, 1999)
Panchayat Raj Institutions
The highest national priority must be the unleashing of woman power in governance. That is the single most important source of societal energy that we have kept corked for half a century.
--Mani Shankar Aiyar, journalist, India Today

Through the experience of the Indian Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI) 1 million women have actively entered political life in India. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, which guarantee that all local elected bodies reserve one-third of their seats for women, have spearheaded an unprecedented social experiment which is playing itself out in more than 500,000 villages that are home to more than 600 million people. Since the creation of the quota system, local women–the vast majority of them illiterate and poor–have come to occupy as much as 43% of the seats, spurring the election of increasing numbers of women at the district, provincial and national levels. Since the onset of PRI, the percentages of women in various levels of political activity have risen from 4-5% to 25-40%.

According to Indian writer and activist Devaki Jain, "the positive discrimination of PRI has initiated a momentum of change. Women's entry into local government in such large numbers, often more than the required 33.3 %, and their success in campaigning, including the defeat of male candidates, has shattered the myth that women are not interested in politics, and have no time to go to meetings or to undertake all the other work that is required in political party processes…PRI reminds us of a central truth: power is not something people give away. It has to be negotiated, and sometimes wrested from the powerful."
Contrary to fears that the elected women would be rubber stamp leaders, the success stories that have arisen from PRI are impressive. A government-financed study, based on field work in 180 villages in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and coordinated by the Center for Women’s Development Studies in New Delhi, has found that a full two-thirds of elected women leaders are actively engaged in learning the ropes and exercising power. Says Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of UNIFEM, "This is one of the best innovations in grass-roots democracy in the world."

Women leaders in the Panchayati Raj are transforming local governance by sensitizing the State to issues of poverty, inequality and gender injustice. Through the PRI, they are tackling issues that had previously gone virtually unacknowledged, including water, alcohol abuse, education, health and domestic violence. According to Sudha Murali, UNICEF Communications Officer in Andhra Pradesh, women are seeing this power as a chance for a real change for them and for their children and are using it to demand basic facilities like primary schools and health care centres.

The PRI has also brought about significant transformations in the lives of women themselves, who have become empowered, and have gained self-confidence, political awareness and affirmation of their own identity. The panchayat villages have become political training grounds to women, many of them illiterate, who are now leaders in the village panchayats. Says Sudha Pillai, joint secretary in India’s Ministry for Rural Development, "It has given something to people who were absolute nobodies and had no way of making it on their own. Power has become the source of their growth."

By asserting control over resources and officials and by challenging men, women are discovering a personal and collective power that was previously unimaginable. This includes women who are not themselves panchayat leaders, but who have been inspired by the work of their sisters; "We will not bear it," says one woman. Once we acquire some position and power, we will fight it out…The fact that the Panchayats will have a minimum number of women [will be used] for mobilizing women at large." It is this critical mass of unified and empowered women which will push forward policies that enforce gender equity into the future.
An observation by Deepak Tiwari in This Week, India’s No.1 Weekly News Magazine, displays the promising future made possible by the PRI. He notes, "‘Learning politics’ is the latest fad for young village girls, who dream of joining the growing band of women panchayat representatives, 164,060 at last count, in the state."
Statistical Summary
Social Indicator
India
World
Developing World
Kerala
Sri Lanka
Infant Mortality Rate, per 1000 live births
73
60
66
16
17
Maternal Mortality Rate, per 100,000 live births
570
430
470

140
Female Literacy, %
58
77.6
70.4
86.93
90.2
Female School Enrollment
47
62
57
63
67
Earned Income by females, %
26
58.0
53.0
49.8
35.5
Underweight Children, %
53
30
30

38
Total Fertility Rate
3.2
2.9
3.2
1.9
2.1
Women in Government, %
6
7
5

9
Contraception usage, %
44
56
54
56
66
Low birth weight babies, %
33
17
7

25
Kerala and Sri Lanka are added for comparison as they are recognized as having made exceptional efforts in the field of female education.

Conclusion

As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has stated, "Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance."

This recognition is currently missing in India. Transforming the prevailing social discrimination against women must become the top priority, and must happen concurrently with increased direct action to rapidly improve the social and economic status of women. In this way, a synergy of progress can be achieved.

As women receive greater education and training, they will earn more money. As women earn more money - as has been repeatedly shown - they spend it in the further education and health of their children, as opposed to men, who often spend it on drink, tobacco or other women. As women rise in economic status, they will gain greater social standing in the household and the village, and will have greater voice. As women gain influence and consciousness, they will make stronger claims to their entitlements - gaining further training, better access to credit and higher incomes - and command attention of police and courts when attacked. As women’s economic power grows, it will be easier to overcome the tradition of "son preference" and thus put an end to the evil of dowry. As son preference declines and acceptance of violence declines, families will be more likely to educate their daughters, and age of marriage will rise. For every year beyond 4th grade that girls go to school, family size shrinks 20%, child deaths drop 10% and wages rise 20%. As women are better nourished and marry later, they will be healthier, more productive, and will give birth to healthier babies.

Only through action to remedy discrimination against women can the vision of India's independence — an India where all people have the chance to live health and productive lives — be realized.

Health with Yoga

2007-10-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

Yoga Postures Step By Step
1
Table of Contents
Sl. No Sanskrit Name English Name Difficulty Page
1. Surya – Namaskar Sun Salutation

2. Akarna – Dhanur - asana Shooting Bow Posture

3. Anjaneya – asana Salutation Pose
4. Ardha Chandra -asana Half Moon Posture

5. Ardha – Matsyendra -asana Half Spinal Twist Posture
6. Baddha Kona Asana Restrained angle Posture
7. Bala Asana Child Posture

8. Chakra Asana Wheel Posture
9. Dhanur - asana Bow Posture

10. Ekapada - asana One Legged Posture

11. Garuda – asana Half Spinal Twist Posture
12. Gomukha – asana Cow Face Posture
13. Hala - sana Plough Posture
14. Hasta – Pada – angusta Hand – foot big toe Pose
15. Matsya - asana Fish Posture

16. Naga – asana Cobra Posture

17. Nataraja asana King of the Dance Posture
18. Padma – asana Lotus Posture
19. Parivritta – parshvakona Turned Side angle Posture
20. Pavana mukta asana Wind – releasing posture

21. Sarvanga – asana Shoulder stand posture
22. Shalabha – asana Locust Posture
23. Shava – asana Corpse Posture
24. Siddha - asana Accomplished Posture
25. Simha – asana Lion Posture
26. Sirsha – asana Headstand Posture

27. Tada – asana Mountain Pose
28. Trikona – asana Triangle Pose
29. Ugra – asana Powerful Posture

30. Ushtra – asana Camel Posture
31. Vajra – asana Diamond Posture
32. Vira – asana Hero Posture
33. Vriksha – asana Tree Pose
34. Vrischika – asana Scorpion Pose
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Yoga Postures Step-by-Step
1. The Sun salutation - Suryanamaskar
Posture: Surya-namaskar - Sun Salutation
Translation:
The Sanskrit word surya means sun. Namaskar is the
Hindi word for Namaste, from the root nam, to bow.
Namaskar means salutation, salute, greeting or
praise.
Pronunciation: soor-yee-ah-nahma-skar
Difficulty: (3)

STEP ONE: Stand facing the direction of the
sun with both feet touching.
Bring the hands together, palmto-
palm, at the heart.

STEP TWO:Inhale and raise the arms upward. Slowly bend
backward, stretching arms above the head.

STEP THREE:
Exhale slowly bending forward,
touching the earth with respect
until the hands are in line with
the feet, head touching knees.

STEP FOUR:Inhale and move the right leg back away from the
body in a wide backward step. Keep the hands
and feet firmly on the ground, with the left foot
between the hands. Raise the head.
STEP FIVE:
While exhaling, bring the
left foot together with the
right. Keep arms straight,
raise the hips and align the
head with the arms,
forming an upward arch.

STEP SIX:Exhale and lower the body to the floor until the
the feet, knees, hands, chest, and forehead are
touching the ground.
STEP SEVEN:
Inhale and slowly raise
the head and bend
backward as much as
possible, bending the
spine to the maximum
(as in the naga-asana).

STEP EIGHT:While exhaling, bring the left foot together with
the right. Keep arms straight, raise the hips and
align the head with the arms, forming an upward
arch.
3
STEP NINE:
Inhale and move the right
leg back away from the
body in a wide backward
step. Keep the hands and
feet firmly on the ground,
with the left foot between
the hands. Raise the head.

STEP TEN:Exhale slowly bending forward, touching the earth with
respect until the hands are in line with the feet, head
touching knees.

STEP ELEVEN:
Inhale and raise the arms
upward. Slowly bend
backward, stretching arms
above the head.

STEP TWELVE:Stand facing the direction of the sun with both feet
touching. Bring the hands together, palm-to-palm, at the
heart.
2. Akarna-Dhanura-asana – The Shooting – bow - Pose
Posture:
Akarna-dhanura-asana
The Shooting-bow Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word karna means ear and the prefix "a" means
near to or towards. Dhanur means bow-shaped, curved or bent.
The "bow" here referred to is a bow as in "bow and arrow."
Literally we could translate this as the near-the-ear bow
posture but because of the obvious appearance of the posture
we'll call it the shooting bow posture.
Pronunciation: ah-car-nah da-noor ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (6) Requires flexibility of hips and legs.
4
Instructions:
1. Sit on the floor with the legs together and extended straight out in front. Keep the back straight,
shoulders level and head straight. Place the hands, palms down, flat on top of the thighs then
inhale deeply.
2. Exhale and reach down and loop the forefinger of the right hand around the big toe of the right
foot and grasp the left foot with the left hand.
3. Inhale and pull the right foot back placing the big toe next to the right ear. Straighten the back
as much s possible and hold the posture for the duration of the inhale breath.
4. Exhale and return to the seated position of step #1 then repeat the posture on the opposite side.
"Having caught the toes of the feet with both hands and carried them to the ears by drawing the body like
a bow, it becomes Dhanura-asana."
The Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika I.27.
Comments:
While practicing this posture imagine yourself as an archer with the gaze focused on the target and the
arrow firmly yet gracefully being pulled back in the bow. Hold the posture steady as an archer would hold
the arrow aimed at its target. Return the foot to the floor gently. This simple technique will help cultivate
a focused and unwavering attention.
Variations:
Reverse the hands and feet so that that the right hand pulls the left foot to the left ear and vice versa. The
foot gets pulled under the outstretched arm.
3. Anjanaya-asana – The Salutation Pose
Posture: Anjanaya-asana - The Salutation Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word anjaneya means salutation or praise from
the root anj which means to honor, to celebrate, to anoint.
Pronunciation: Ahn-jah-nay-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (7)
Instructions:
1. Sit comfortably in the vajra-asana (thunderbolt pose).
2. Kneel up on your knees until your back, buttocks and thighs are aligned.
3. Extend your left foot foward bending your left knee at about a 90 degree angle.
4. Place the palms of your hands together at the heart in the anjali-mudra.
5. Raise your arms stright up keeping the palms together while bending the head
backward and looking up.
6. Slowly bend backward stretching the arms backward and straightening out the right
leg. Hold this position for as long as comfortable while breathing gently through the
nostrils.
5
7. Come back to the vajara-asana (thunderbolt pose) then reverse the posture by
alternating legs.
Comments:
The anjaneya-asana combines several postures and mudras (gestures) in a fluid, evolving flow that
combines motion, stretching and holds. It delivers great benefits for the back, arms, chest, legs and hips.
Regular practice will strengthen concentration and improve balance.
Perform this posture with a sense of reverence and praise. Take a moment to reside in silence and peace
as your hands are held at the heart in the gesture (mudra) of salutation (anjali-mudra). Keep the
intention of praise in mind as you extend your arms skyward. Feel your entire body-mind-heart extending
outward in recognition of the sacredness of life.
Duration/Repetitions:
Repeat twice on each side.
4. Ardhachandra-asana – The Half – moon Pose
Posture: Ardhachandra-asana - The Half-moon Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word ardha means "half," and the word chandra
means "moon," thus, this is the "half moon" posture.
Pronunciation: ard-ha-chun-drah-sa-na
Difficulty: (2)
Instructions:
1. Stand in the tada-asana (Stand with both feet touching from the heel to the big toe,
keeping the back straight and the arms pressed slightly against the sides with palms
facing inward.
2. Bring the hands together at the chest with palms lightly pressed against each other
(the Anjali-mudra).
3. Inhale and raise the arms straight up keeping the palms pressed lightly together.
4. Arch your body backwards keeping your arms alongside your neck and head, tilt the
head backward and hold. Keep your knees straight while holding posture.
5. Slowly return to the tada-asana.
6
Comments:
The ardha-chandra-asana is a basic stretching and balancing pose that benefits principly the lower back,
abdomen and chest. It isequally suitable for use in your stretching routine as well as formal asana
practice.
This pose is also one of the postures that are are sequenced in surya-namaskar (the Sun Salutation).
Duration/Repetitions:
Repeat ardha-chandra-asana two to three times.
5. Ardha-matsyendra-asana – The Half Spinal Twist Pose
Posture:
Ardha-matsyendra-asana
The Half Spinal Twist Pose
Translation:
Ardha means half. Matsyendra is one of many Siddhas or
masters who where accomplished Yogis mentioned in the
medieval Yoga text the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika. This posture
posture is traditionally called the Spinal Twist because the
spinal column is twisted gently.
Pronunciation: ard-ha-mat-syen-drah-sa-na
Difficulty: (4)
"Keeping the abdominal region at ease like the back, bending the
left leg, place it on the right thigh; then place on this the elbow of
the right hand, and place the face on the palm of the right hand,
and fix the gaize between the eye-brows. This is called Matsyendraposture."
Hatha-yoga-pradipika I.37
Instructions:
Sit in any comfortable cross-legged position.
1. Straighten the legs out in front. Bend the right knee and bring the heel of the right
foot close to the left hip.
2. Inhale and bend the left knee upward and place the left foot flat on the floor to the
right of the right leg with the ankle touching the right thigh.
3. While turning the spine to the left straighten the right arm bringing it around to the
outside of the left knee and grasp the left foot with the right hand.
4. Turn your head as far as possible to the left and bend the left arm behind your back.
Keep your spine, neck and head aligned and continue to exert effort at turning to the
left.
5. Repeat the posture the other side by reversing directions 2-6.
7
Comments:
The Half Spinal Twist is one of the best Yoga postures for cultivating flexibility and strength in the spine. It
sooths stiff necks and upper back tension caused by stress, poor posture, or prolonged periods of sitting in
one position.
The alternating compression and release of the abdominal region flushes this area with blood and
massages the internal organs. Muscles of the stomach and hips are also toned from repeated practice of
the Half Spinal Twist.
Duration/Repetitions:
The posture can be held for as long as you are comfortable. (One repetition consists of performing the
posture on each side. Two to three full repetitions should be done at each session.
6. Baddha-kona-asana – The Restrained Angle Pose
Posture:
Baddha-kona-asana
The Restrained Angle Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word baddha means a bond, chain, caught or
restrained. The word pada means foot, and kona means corner
or angle therefore this is the restrained-foot-angle posture.
Pronunciation: ba-dah-cone-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (4)
Instructions:
1. Sit on the floor with the legs together and extended straight out in front. Keep the
back straight, shoulders level and head straight. Place the hands, palms down, flat on
top of the thighs then inhale deeply.
2. Exhale and bend the knees drawing the feet toward the torso.
3. Place the soles of the feet together, clasp the hands over the feet interlocking the
fingers pulling the feet closer and placing the heels against the perineum. The outer
edge and small toe of each foot should touch the floor.
4. Lower the knees to the floor and keep the back straight. Use the elbows to press down
on the thighs if necessary to bring the calves and knees to the floor. Hold the posture
breathing gently through the nostrils.
5. Release the posture and sit with the legs extended out and hands on the thighs.
8
Comments:
Regular practice of the baddhakona-asana stretches the knees and stimulates circulation in the legs. It
should be practiced frequently until one is comfortable sitting in the padma-asana. The main areas of the
body that are stimulated, besides the legs, are the stomach, pelvis and lower back. It is said to keep the
kidneys, prostate and bladder healthy. The baddha-konasana is one of the few postures that can be
practiced comfortably soon after eating.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the posture from thirty seconds to two minutes depending on comfort. Repeat two or three times.
7. Bala-asana – The Child Pose
Posture: Bala-asana - The Child Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word bala means child.
Pronunciation: ba-lah-sa-na
Difficulty: (2)
"As inumerable cups full of water, many reflections of the sun are
seen, but the sun is the same; similarly individuals, like cups, are
inumerable, but spirit, like the sun, is one."
The Shiva-samhita I.35 II.42-43.
Instructions:
1. Sit on your knees with your feet together and buttocks resting on your heels. Separate
your knees about the width of your hips. Place your hands on your thighs, palms
down. (This is the vajra-asana or Thunderbolt Pose).
2. Inhale deeply, then exhale as you bring your chest between your knees while swinging
your arms forward.
3. Rest your forehead on the floor, if possible, and then bring your arms around to your
sides until the hands on resting on either side of your feet, palms up.
4. Breath gently through your nostrils as you hold the posture. Hold for about one to two
minutes. Then return to asn upright kneeling position with your back straight and your
hands on your thighs.
5. Repeat the posture at least one more time.
9
Comments:
The bala-asana is one of the more relaxing Yoga postures and can easily be done by beginners. As part of
your Yoga routine it is best used as a counter-pose to any posture that stretch the spine backward (such
as the naga-asana, the dhanura-asana, the chakra-asana, the ushtra-asana, etc.)
The bala-asana gently stretches and relaxes the shoulders, neck, back muscles and thighs.
Duration/Repetitions:
The bala-asana can be held for as long as is comfortable. Repeat at least twice if it is held for less than a
minute.
8. Chakra-asana
Posture:
Chakra-asana
The Wheel Pose
Translation:
Chakra, from the root cak ("to move") means wheel and
therefore this is the Wheel Posture.
The cakra-asana is also known as the urdhva-dhanurasana.
Urdhva means raised, elevated or upright and dhanur means
bow. Both "wheel posture" and "raised bow posture" describe
the appearance of this asana.
Pronunciation: chu-krah-sa-na
Difficulty: (8) (full variation), (3) (bridge variation)
Instructions:
1. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana (corpse pose).
2. While exhaling bend the knees and bring the feet as close to the buttocks as possible
with the soles of the feet flat on the floor.
3. Bend the arms at the elbows and place the palms of the hands flat on the floor directly
under each shoulder with the fingers pointing toward the back.
4. While inhaling slowly, begin to raise the head, back and buttocks off the floor while
arching the spine. Continue to press downward on the hands and feet while raising the
hips and stomach as high as possible.
5. Hold for the duration of the held inhaled breath. When you can't hold the breath
comfortable any longer, slowly exhale and return the back to the floor, slide the legs
out straight returning to the shava-asana.
Comments:
The chakra-asana is more challenging than most other yoga postures. Don't be discouraged if
your unable to accomplish it right away. Even attempting this posture without successful
completion holds great benefits.
First and foremost is the strength and suppleness it restores to the spine. It strengthens the
arms, shoulders and upper back as well and stimulates the cardiovascular system. The chakraasana
has an overall tonic effect for the entire body.
10
As the natural suppleness of the spine is restored after a period of practice you can begin to
perfect the form of this asana and thus experience greater benefits.
First be certain that the arms are as straight as possible with very little to no bend in the
elbows. When you can hold this comfortably, begin breathing through the nostrils while
holding the posture and attempt to get a greater arch in the spine by bringing your hands
closer to your feet and/or bringing your feet closer to your hands. Finally, you can extend the
duration of the chakra-asana by doing several repetitions in sequence without resting inbetween.
As you return from the posture keep the hands behind the shoulders and the soles
of the feet flat on the floor and as soon as the back returns to floor immediately raise it and
enter the full posture again.
Duration/Repetitions:
The chakra-asana is either held for the duration of the inhaled breath or between one and
three minutes while breathing gently through the nostrils. Repeat it two or three times.
The "Bridge" Variation:
Although this variation is much easier to perform than the full chakra-asana, it shares several
of its benefits. In particular it will help to stretch the spine and relieve tightness in the upper
back and shoulder area.
To get the full benefit of the bridge variation continual effort should be applied to raising the
back upward and creating the greatest possible arch with the spine.
While holding the bridge breath slowly through the nostrils. If there is no discomfort felt in the
spine or shoulders then one should advance to the full variation of the chakra-asana as
described above. Both variations strengthen the back and promote flexibility of the spine.
Tightness in the back and spine results from poor posture, stress, a sedentary lifestyle and/or
emotional disturbances. You should begin to feel the tightness being released after just a few
repetitions.
9. Dhanura-asana
Posture: Dhanura-asana - The Bow Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word dhanur means bow-shaped, curved
or bent. The bow referred is a bow as in "bow and
arrow." This asana is so named because the body
mimics the shape of a bow with its string stretched
back ready to shoot an arrow.
Pronunciation: dha-noor-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (5)
11
Instructions:
1. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana (corpse pose).
2. Lie on the stomach with the head turned to one side and the arms alongside the body
with palms facing upward.
3. Turn the head and place the chin on the floor. Exhale, bend the knees, reach back with
the arms and grasp the right ankle with the right hand and the left ankle with the left
hand.
4. While inhaling, slowly raise the legs by pulling the ankles up and raising the knees off
the floor while simultaneously lifting the chest off the floor. Hold the inhale breath. The
weight of the body should be resting on the abdomen.
5. Tilt the head as far back as possible. Hold the posture as long as you can comfortably
hold the inhale breath.
6. Slowly exhale bringing the knees to the floor, release the ankles, slowly bring the legs
and arms straight down on the floor and turn the head to one side, assuming the
prone posture you began with.
Comments:
The most obvious benefit of the dhanur-asana is that it restores flexibility to the spine. Regular practice
will relieve lower back pain and release tension and strain in the upper back and neck area. The
alternating stretching and releasing of the abdominal muscles increases blood flow to this area and aids all
sorts of digestive disorders and discomforts. Strain or fatigue in the legs is also released after a few
repetitions. Extended practice will help develop upper-body strength.
Duration/Repetitions:
The dhanur-asana is either held for the duration of the inhaled or between one and three minutes while
breathing gently through the nostrils. Repeat it two or three times.
Variations:
The two variations of the dhanur-asana have to do with the method of breathing and the amount of arch
of the back. As one progresses with this asana and is able to hold the posture for a longer period of time,
the posture can be held while slow, rhythmic breathing is maintained through the nostrils. As the spine
becomes more flexible try drawing the feet closer to the head. Some are able to join the top of the head
to the soles of the feet although this is certainly not necessary to accomplish the dhanur-asana.
10. Ekapada-asana
Posture:
Ekapada-asana - The One-legged
Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word eka means one and pada means
foot making this the one-foot, or more commonly,
one-legged pose.
Pronunciation: eka-pod-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (5)
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Instructions:
1. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tad-asana).
2. Focus the eyes straight ahead on a spot midway between waist and eye level and
remain focused there throughout this asana. (standing about five feet from a wall
would be helpful).
3. Inhale and extend the arms directly in front, parallel with the floor with thumbs
touching.
4. Exhale and raise the right knee bending the leg at a 90 degree angle, pause for a
moment then extend the leg straight out in front pointing the toes forward.
5. Pause for a moment then swing the leg backward while bending forward at the waist.
6. Breath slowly through the nostrils and make sure the arms, torso and legs are parallel
with the floor.
7. Hold the posture for at least 30 seconds and then return slowly to a standing position.
Comments:
The ekapada-asana tones and strengthens leg muscles, improves sense of balance and helps sharpen
concentration.
The ekpada requires that you become aware of your body/mind as a whole. As you practice this posture
turn the attention away from distractions of the mind and center it on full body-awareness. Continual
effort in the ekpada-asana in this way will help cultivate concentration.
The "closed eyes" variation (see below) intensifies the effect of the posture. Instead of relying on a fixed
point of vision as an "anchor" the practitioner will cultivate an inner stability. The ekpada-asana also gives
strength to the hips and lower back.
Duration/Repetitions:
This posture should be held for a minimum of 30 seconds and can be extended to up to several minutes.
Repeat at least twice on each foot.
Variations:
When you can remain in the ekpada effortlessly for at least 30 seconds without wavering or losing
balance, try doing it with the eyes closed. This variation makes the posture quite challenging but it
increases the benefits as described above.
11. Garuda – asana
Posture: Garuda-asana - The Eagle Pose
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Translation:
The Sanskrit word garuda means eagle. In Hindu mythology
Garuda is known as the king of birds. He transports the God
Vishnu (shown with a bow and arrow in the illustration to the
left) and is said to be eager to help humanity fight againt
deamons.
Pronunciation: ga-roo-dah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
Instructions:
1. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana (corpse pose).
2. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tad-asana).
3. Draw the left foot upward bending the knee and wrap the left foot around your right
leg as you rest the back of your left thigh on the right thigh.
4. Cross your arms at the elbows, left over right.
5. Join the palms of your hands together keeping the fingers pointed upward.
6. Inhale and hold the posture for the duration of the inhaled breath.
7. Exhale and return to the tada-asana. Repeat the posture on the opposite side,
wrapping the right leg over the left and the right arm over left.
Comments:
The Garuda-asana will strengthen the legs, knees and ankles. It stretches and tones muscles of the leg
and can help relieve cramps of the legs.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the hala-asana for as long as you are comfortable. 20-30 seconds is fine for early attempts, increase
the time gradually as you become more comfortable. You can also try holding the posture for as long as
you can hold the inhaled breath. Repeat 2 or 3 times on each leg.
12. Gomukha - asana
Posture: Gomukha-asana - The Cow face Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word garuda means eagle. In Hindu mythology
Garuda is known as the king of birds. He transports the God
Vishnu (shown with a bow and arrow in the illustration to the
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left) and is said to be eager to help humanity fight againt
deamons.
Pronunciation: ga-roo-dah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
"Placing the right ankle on the left side and the left ankle on the
right side, makes Gomukha-asana, having the appearance of a
cow."
Hatha-yoga-pradipika I.22
Instructions:
1. Sit in a crossed-leg position, right leg over left.
2. Spread the legs as far apart as possible without bending the knees.
3. Bend the left knee and place the bottom of the left foot against the inner left thigh.
Bring the left heel as close to the perineum as possible. Keep the left knee on the
floor.
4. Grasp the right foot with the left hand and keeping the foot on the floor place the heel
of the right foot against the front-left portion of the left buttock. The right knee should
be directly on top of the left knee..
5. Inhale slowly through the nostrils and raise the right hand over the head and bend the
right elbow. Reach behind the back with the left hand and clasp the fingers of both
hands (forming an "s" shaped lock).
6. Hold the posture as long as you can comfortably hold the inhale breath. Exhale slowly
and then repeat the posture reversing the arms and legs.
7.
Comments:
This posture stretches the arms, upper back, chest and the sides of the chest and abdomen. As the
shoulder blades are stretched backward the lungs are expanded and as the abdominal muscles are lifted
the stomach is toned. It helps to relieve neck strain, backache and tight shoulders. The hands, fingers and
wrists are strengthened.
Duration/Repetitions:
You can either hold the posture while the breath is held or you can try holding the posture while breathing
gently through the nostrils. If you choose to breath, then hold the posture for thirty seconds to a minute.
Repeat the gomukha-asana two to three times on each side.
Variations:
If you are unable to lock the fingers behind the back you may grasp one end of a small piece of cloth in
the right hand and the other end of the cloth in the left hand.
13. Hala - asana
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Posture: Hala-asana - The Plow Pose
Translation:
The The Sanskrit word Hala means plow, as in a traditional
plow that is drawn by a horse or oxen. When performing this
posture your body resembles a plow.
Pronunciation: hull-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (5)
Instructions:
1. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana (the corpse pose).
2. Inhale through the nostrils. Place the palms face-down on the floor. Keeping the hips
on the floor, bend the knees and bring them up toward the stomach while exhaling.
3. Inhale, then while exhaling, raise the legs straight up perpendicular to the floor. You
may support your hips with your hands or leave the arms flat on the floor, whichever
is most comfortable.
4. Exhale and continue to raise the legs over the head, bending at the waist, lifting the
back and buttocks until the toes touch the floor directly in back of the head. Keep the
feet together. If the lower back is supported by the hands try returning the arms flat
to the floor with the palms facing down. If you are unable to comfortably place the
arms on the floor continue to support the lower back with the hands.
5. Keep the knees straight. Breath slowly through the nostrils and hold the posture for
several minutes. If you cannot touch the floor with your toes hold them as close to the
floor as possible and continue to exert effort to lower them.
6. Reverse the steps to return to the shava-asana.
Comments:
The benefits of this posture, like the sarvanga-asana, are numerous. All of the muscles and ligaments in
the calves and thighs are stretched resulting in greater leg flexibility. People suffering from leg cramps will
find great relief from the hala-asana.
Since the abdominal area is contracted, blood compressed out of this area releases toxins and when the
contraction is released the area is flooded with richly oxygenated blood. The contraction also helps to
relieve gas and stimulates a sluggish digestive system. Similar effects take place as the neck and chest
area is compressed effecting the throat, thyroid, hyperthyroid and lungs. Upper and lower back pain or
discomfort is relieved due to the forward stretching of the spine.
It is highly recommended that this posture be accompanied by the sarvanga-asana. In fact, many of
the benefits of the sarvanga-asana apply to the hala-asana as well with the added benefits detailed above.
The hala-asana is an excellent morning posture although some might find it more difficult then. During
sleep the spine can become somewhat compressed resulting in the experience of tightness or stiffness in
the back. A few repetitions of the hala-asana will quickly restore flexibility to the spine as well as promote
alertness.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the hala-asana for as long as you are comfortable. 20-30 seconds is fine for early attempts, increase
the time gradually as you become more comfortable.
Variations:
There are several variations of the basic hala-asana each of which require greater flexibility in the spine
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and legs. Once one is adept at performing this asana these variations may be tried. The first entails
swinging the arms around and either touching or grasping the toes with the hands (1). The posture is then
held in this position. (illustrated above)
Another variation calls for dropping the knees to the ground and placing them close the ears and keeping
the arms extended on the floor (2). And finally from this variation the arms are swung around and placed
over the legs behind the knees and the hands are clasped and pressed down on the knees to hold them
firmly on the floor (3). All three variations are held while breathing gently gently through the nostrils.
Cautions/Restrictions:
The hala-asana should not be performed by woman who are menstruating, as is the case with all inverted
postures (where the legs are raise over the head). No other restrictions apply.
14. Hasta – pada – angusta - asana
Posture:
Hasta-pada-angusta-asana
The Hand-Foot-Big Toe Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word hasta means hand, pada means foot, and
angusta means big toe therefore this is the hand-foot-big toe
posture.
Pronunciation: ha-sta-pah-don-goo-stah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
Instructions:
1. Sit on the floor with the legs together and extended straight out in front. Keep the
back straight, shoulders level and head straight. Place the hands, palms down, flat on
top of the thighs.
2. Spread the legs as far apart as possible without bending the knees.
3. Bend the left knee and place the bottom of the left foot against the inner left thigh.
Bring the left heel as close to the perineum as possible. Keep the left knee on the
floor.
4. Stretch both arms straight out in front of you, then keeping the back straight turn
slowly at the waist toward the right aligning the arms with the right leg.
5. Inhale slowly while raising the arms over the head and arching the back.
6. Exhale and slowly while bending forward bringing the chest down to the right thigh.
Clasp the big toe of the right foot with the first finger of both hands. Hold this position
for the duration of the exhaled breath.
7. Inhale slowly through the nostrils releasing the posture while sitting up straight.
8. Straighten the left leg and return to the seated position described in step 2 then
repeat the posture, this time bending the right leg.
Comments:
The benefits of the hasta-pada-angusta-asana are similar to those of the ugra-asana (i.e.: spinal stretch,
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abdominal toning, gastro-intestinal stimulation). There is additional stretching of the leg that is
outstretched as well as to the groin.
Duration/Repetitions:
Repeat two or three times on each leg.
15. Matsya - sana
Posture: Matsya-asana - The Fish Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word matsya means fish, therefore this is the fish
posture. Matsya (depicted to the left) is a divine being, found in
Hindu mythology, that saved mankind from a universal flood.
Pronunciation: maht-see-yah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
Instructions:
1. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana.
2. Keeping the buttocks on the floor, inhale and raise the head, shoulders, back and
upper arms off the floor arching the back and raising the chest up. Tilt the head back
and place the top of the head flat on the floor.
3. Raise the elbows off the floor bring your hands up just below the chest and join them
at the palms with the fingers pointing straight up (form the anjali-mudra or salutation
hand gesture). Hold for the duration of the inhale breath or breath gently through the
nostrils to remain in the posture longer.
4. Return to the shava-asana.
Comments:
The matsya-asana creates a great expansion and stretching of the chest which helps relieve upper
respiratory congestion as well as benefits the heart. Additionally, the sinus are drained and opened from
the inversion of the head, stretching of the neck and pressure placed on the top of the head. The thyroid
and parathyroid glands are stimulated as well.
Duration/Repetitions:
Since this is not a difficult posture, it is recommended that you breath while holding it for between two
and four minutes. If you are uncomfortable breathing, hold the posture for the duration of the inhaled
breath. Repeat two or three times.
Variations:
There is one major variation in the matsya-asana and it is a bit more challenging than the one described
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above (illustrated above). It calls for beginning the posture in padma-asana or the full lotus seated
posture and then lying flat on the back while the legs are still locked. From there on the posture is done
the same way as described above.
16. Naga - asana
Posture: Naga-asana - The Cobra Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word naga means snake or serpent. The nagaasana
is also known as the bhujanga-asana. The Sanskrit word
bhujanga, which also means snake, is derived from the root
bhuj which means to bend or curve.
Pronunciation: na-gah-sa-na
Difficulty: (4)
"Let the body, from navel to toes, touch the ground, the palms placed upon the
ground, and raise gently the upper part of the body (from navel to head) like a snake.
This posture increases the gastric fire; it destroys all diseases and by constant practice
leads to the awakening of Kundalini."
The Gheranda-samhita II.42-43.
Instructions:
1. Lie on the stomach with the head turned to one side and the arms alongside the body
with palms facing upward.
2. Turn the head and place the chin on the floor. Inhale then exhale slowly through the
nostrils and swing the arms around until the hands are placed just below the chin with
the palms down and the finger tips of each hand almost touching and the elbows on
the floor.
3. Inhale slowly through the nostrils, press down on the hands and lift the torso from the
waist up off the floor, arching the spine backwards and straightening the arms. Keep
the hips on the floor.
4. Tilt the head as far back as possible and hold the posture for the duration of the
inhaled breath.
5. Exhale and reverse the process to return to position #1.
Comments:
If you find it uncomfortable holding the breath while the posture is held, breath gently through the
nostrils. Some may find that they are able to arch the spine back even more than in the initial arch in step
3. In this case try "walking" the hands toward the pelvic region and stretching the head further back.
In addition to the obvious benefits to the spine and lower back, the standard variation of the naga-asana
strengthens the wrists and stretches the muscles in the chest. By maintaining a constant exertion to
create a greater arch in the spine, the stomach and pelvic muscles are strengthened. Greater strength in
these areas can be cultivated by performing the variation where the arms remain on the ground. B.K.S.
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Iyengar, a renowned expert in yoga-asanas, claims that displaced spinal discs can be placed back in their
original position by practicing the naga-asana.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the posture for either the duration of a held inhaled breath or from one-half to three minutes. Repeat
the naga-asana two to five times.
17. Nataraja - asana
Posture:
Nataraja-asana
The King of the Dance Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word nata means dancer and raja means king.
Nataraja is another name for Shiva, the Lord of the Dance,
whose cosmic dance is the creation and destruction of the
world.
Pronunciation: nah-tah-raj-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
Instructions:
1. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tad-asana).
2. Inhale and bend the right leg backward grasping the left foot with your left hand while
simultaneously extending the right arm straight out in front.
3. Continue raising the right arm upward until it is about 45 degrees from the floor while
lifting the left leg as high as possible with the left arm.
4. Hold the posture while breathing gently through the nostrils. Keep your gaze fixed
slightly above the horizon.
5. Remain in the nataraja-asana for about one minute then return slowly to a standing
position. Repeat by reversing directions 2-4.
Comments:
Perform the nataraja-asana gracefully as if dancing, yet firmly with focused attention.
This posture helps to strengthen your sense of balance and concentration. The arch formed by the back
and stretched leg gently aligns the vertebrae of the spine restoring suppleness and easing strain caused
20
by poor posture or long periods of sitting. It tones the muscles of the hips and legs as well as stimulates
the chest muscles.
Duration/Repetitions:
Begin by holding the nataraja-asana for about a minute and gradually increase the time as you become
more comfortable with this posture. Repeat it three times on each side, alternately from right to left.
18. Padmasana – The Lotus Posture
Posture: Padma-asana - The Lotus Posture
Translation:
The Sanskrit word naga means snake or serpent. The nagaasana
is also known as the bhujanga-asana. The Sanskrit word
bhujanga, which also means snake, is derived from the root
bhuj which means to bend or curve.
Pronunciation: pud-mah-sa-na
Difficulty: (2-6) depending on flexibility of legs
Instructions:
1. Sit on the floor with the legs stretched out straight in front.
2. Bend the right knee and grasp the right foot with both hands and place it on top of the
left thigh bringing the heel as close to the navel as possible.
3. Bend the left knee and grasp the left foot with both hands and place it on top of the
right thigh bringing the heel as close to the navel as possible.
4. Both knees should be on the ground and the soles of the feet are pointed upward. The
spine is held straight but not rigid.
5. The position of the legs may be switched after a period of time if the posture becomes
uncomfortable.
Comments:
When in the padma-asana the hands can be placed in one of the following three positions:
• Place one hand on top of the other, both palms up, and rest the hands on the heels (this is known as
the dhyana-mudra). This variation is recommended for meditation.
• Place the hands on the knees, palms down.
• With palms up, place the hands on the knees, form a circle with the thumb and forefinger and extend
the remaining fingers straight ahead (this is known as the chin-mudra). Recommended for pranayama
(Yogic breathing).
The padma-asana facilitates relaxation, concentration and ultimately, meditation. The posture creates a
natural balance throughout the body/mind. When the knees are stretched enough to remain in the
padma-asana without discomfort the posture creates a feeling of effortlessness and ease that will soothe
the nervous system, quiet the mind and bring about the condition of one-pointedness.
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Duration/Repetitions:
The length of time to sit in the padma-asana depends on your intention. In the course of a typical asana
routine you might hold it for several minutes or until you experience discomfort in the legs. When used as
a meditation posture you hold it for the duration of the meditation.
Variations:
If you find the padma-asana difficult or painful, can try the ardha padma-asana variation or half lotus
posture (ardha means half). Instead of placing both feet on the thighs, only one foot is place on top of the
opposite thigh and the other is place under the opposite thigh. Periodically alternate positions to allow
both knees to be stretched. Those who are unable to do either variation of this asana comfortably should
practice the baddha kona-asana.
19. Parivritta-parshvakona-asana
Posture:
Parivritta-parshvakona-asana
The Turned Side-Angle Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word parivritta means revolved, turned round or
back, parsva means side and kona means angle.
Pronunciation: par-ee-vrit-ah parsh-va-cone-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (6)
Instructions:
1. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tad-asana).
2. Inhale and spread your legs apart slightly further than shoulder distance (about 3-4 feet).
3. Stretch your arms straight out from the shoulders parallel to the floor with your palms facing
down.
4. Exhale slowly and turn your right foot toward the right 90 degrees. Bend your right knee about
90 degrees.
5. Place the palm of your left hand flat on the floor next to the outside of your right foot. Rest the
right elbow on the outside of the right knee.
6. Stretch the right arm over your head, parallel with the floor, with the inside of the elbow resting
on the ear. Hold for abot 30-60 seconds while breathing gently through the nostrils.
7. Slowly return to a standing position and repeat on the other side reversing directions 2-6.
Comments:
The parivritta-parshvakona-asana stretches the muscle group along the side of the torso. It strengthens
the ankles, claves and thighs as well as the arms. It is also an excellent posture to tone the muscles in the
waist and hips. This posture also strengthens the digestive system and thus aids digestion, stimulates
blood circulation and assists in restoring strength and flexibility to the spine.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the posture for as long as is comfortable. Performing the parivritta-purvashakona-asana once on
each side is considered one repetition. Do 2 or 3 repetitions.
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20. Pavana – mukta - asana
Posture:
Pavana-mukta-asana
The Wind-releasing Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word pavana means air or wind and mukta means
freedom or release, therefore this is the "wind relieving
posture" so named because it assists in releasing trapped
digestive gas from the stomach and intestines.
Pronunciation: pa-vana mook-tah-sa-na
Difficulty: (1)
Instructions:
1. Inhale and bend the right knee and pull it close to the torso with both hands while interlocking
the fingers just below the knee. Keep the left leg flat on the floor.
2. Hold the inhaled breath for a few seconds then exhale slowly through the nostrils and lift the
back, shoulders and head off the floor and touch the knee with the forehead.
3. Hold the exhaled breath for a few seconds then slowly inhale and return the back, shoulders and
head to the floor. Remain holding the knee.
4. Hold the inhaled breath for a few seconds then exhale while bringing the right leg to the floor.
5. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana for a few seconds then repeat beginning with the left leg.
Comments:
As mentioned above, practicing the purvana-mukta-asana will help to release gastrointestinal gas. It is
also improves other gastrointestinal problems like upset stomachs and constipation by stimulating the
abdominal region.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold each of the four parts of this posture (corresponding with the held breaths) for three to five seconds
each. Repeat the purvasa-mukta-asana three to five times on each side.
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21. Sarvanga – asana:
Posture:
Sarvanga-asana
The Shoulder-stand Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word sarvaanga means limb or body. sarvanga
therefore translates as either "all-limb" or "whole-body
posture". It is so named because of the benefit it provides to
the entire body. It is commonly referred to as the "shoulderstand"
because one is essentially standing on one's shoulders.
Pronunciation: sar-vong-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (5)
Instructions:
1. Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana.
2. Inhale through the nostrils. Place the palms face-down on the floor. Keeping the hips on the floor,
bend the knees and bring them up toward the stomach while exhaling.
3. Inhale slowly through the nostrils, press down on the hands and lift the torso from the waist up
off the floor, arching the spine backwards and straightening the arms. Keep the hips on the floor.
4. Inhale, then while exhaling, raise the legs straight up perpendicular to the floor. You may support
your hips with your hands or leave the arms flat on the floor, whichever is most comfortable.
5. The legs should be together with the knees straight and toes pointed straight up. Keep the head
straight without turning it to either side. The chin should be pressed against the chest.
6. Breath gently through the nostrils while the posture is held.
7. Reverse the steps to return to the shava-asana.
Comments:
The sarvanga-asana is considered by many to be the most beneficial of all yoga postures. Because of its
many benefits, if you find that your time is limited in the course of Yoga practice at home, it is
recommended to place special emphasis on the sarvanga-asana.
When performed in the morning the sarvanga-asana relieves fatigue caused by sleeping too much or too
little and when practiced in the evening it helps to promote deep, restful sleep. It strengthens the back
and helps to relieve lower back pain.
The increased blood flow to the head and upper body helps to heal many disorders such as headaches,
nasal congestion and sore throats. The entire endocrine, digestive, nervous, and venous systems of the
body are stimulated in ways that no form of diet or conventional exercise can perform.
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Because the body is inverted a rich supply of oxygenated blood is sent to the organs and glands in the
upper part of the body, such as the brain, thyroid and pituitary, and heart thereby stimulating them.
Pressure is relieved from the lower body extremities relieving pain and/or swelling of the feet and legs.
The sarvanga-asana also provides great benefit to the abdominal organs helping to relieve gas and
constipation and stimulate digestion. Regular practice of this posture invigorates the mind and helps to
calm the nervous system.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the sarvanga-asana anywhere from one to five minutes depending on comfort. Repeat the posture
two or three times.
Variations:
There are two common variations to this posture. One is called the shalamba-sarvanga-asana. Sa means
with and alamba means prop or support and refers to the use of the arms to support the legs and torso as
they are inverted. The other variation is called the niralamba-sarvanga-sana. Nir means without and thus
this variation is done without the support of the arms.
22. Shalabha – asana – The Locust Pose
Posture:
Shalabha-asana
The Locust or Grasshopper Posture
Translation:
The Sanskrit word Shalabha means locust or grasshopper.
There is a variation of this posture called the viparita-shalabhaasana.
The Sanskrit word viparita means "reverse." This is an
advanced variation not covered here.
Pronunciation: sha-la-bhah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
Instructions:
1. Lie on the stomach with the head turned to one side and the arms alongside the body with palms
facing upward.
2. Turn the head and place your chin on the floor. Slide your hands under your thighs, with the
palms pressed gently against the top of your thighs.
25
3. Inhale slowly and then raise the head, chest, and legs off the floor as high as possible. Tilt your
head as far back as possible. Keep your feet, knees, and thighs pressed together.
4. Starting at the top of the head and working your way down to the feet, bring your attention to
each part of your body, consciously relaxing it before proceeding on to the next.
5. Remain in the posture while holding the breath. You can support your legs by pressing the hands
upward against your thighs.
6. Hold the posture for as long as you can hold the inhaled breath then slowly return the legs,
chest, and head to the floor while exhaling.
7. Remove your hands from under your thighs and place the arms alongside your body. Turn your
head to the side and rest.
Comments:
The shalabha-asana has many benefits. Besides strengthening the muscles of the upper legs and lower
back, it stimulates the stomach and intestines helping to relieve gastrointestinal gas, strengthens the
bladder, and stretches the spine.
To assist raising the legs as high as possible keep the back of the hands resting against the floor while
pushing the legs upward with the fingers. As you get better at this posture and increase the strength of
you legs you can raise the hands completely off the floor so your legs are raised unsupported. This
increases the benefits of the shalabha-asana.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold this posture for as long as you can hold the inhaled breath. Repeat the shalabha-asana three times.
23. Shava – asana – The Corpse Pose:
Posture:
Shava-asana
The Corpse Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word shava means corpse hence this is the
Corpse. The shava-asana is also known as the mrta-asana.
Pronunciation: sha-vah-sa-na
Difficulty: (1)
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Instructions:
1. Lie flat on your back with your legs together but not touching, and your arms close to the body
with the palms facing up.
2. Keep your eyes gently closed with the facial muscles relaxed and breath deeply and slowly
through the nostrils.
3. Starting at the top of the head and working your way down to the feet, bring your attention to
each part of your body, consciously relaxing it before proceeding on to the next.
4. Remain in the shava-asana for between 3 and 5 minutes or longer. If you become sleepy while in
the shava-asana begin to breath a bit faster and deeper.
Comments:
While many consider this a simple posture at first, its simplicity eventually proves to be deceiving. The
goal of the shava-asana is for the body and mind to be perfectly still and relaxed. Not only should the
body be motionless and at ease, but the mind as well should be quiet, like the surface of a still lake. The
result will be a deep and stable relaxation that will extend into your meditation or be felt through the
activities of your daily circumstances.
It goes without saying that the shava-asana will take some time to perfect. You will find the simple
exercise of focusing your attention on each part of your body and consciously directing the breath there to
be a great help with this posture.
There are two common obstacles that can prevent you from fully benefitting from this posture: sleepiness
and a restless mind. If find yourself getting drowsey while in the shava-asana increase the rate and depth
of your breathing. If your mind is restless or wondering focus your attention on all of the bodily senations
you're experiencing. Bring your mind to the sensation of the floor beneath you or on the rhythm of your
breath.
While practing your Yoga-asana routine you should always begin and end each session with the shavaasana.
Duration/Repetitions:
We recommend that you begin your period of yoga-asana practice with at least 3-5 minutes of shavaasana.
Return to it periodically throught your posture session to relax and rejuvinate the body/mind and
then conclude your session with at least 3-5 minutes more
24. Siddha – asana – The Adept Pose:
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Posture:
Siddha-asana
The Accomplished or Adept Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word siddha means accomplished or adept, one
who has attained the highest. The name implies the attainment
of a perfectly stilled mind and the experience of peace that
results from meditation. The siddha-asana is a recommended
pose for meditation.
Pronunciation: sid-dhah-sa-na
Difficulty: (2)
Instructions:
1. Begin in a seated posture. Bend the left knee and grasp the left foot with both hands and place
the heel against the perineum and the sole of the foot against the inside of the right thigh.
2. Exhale and reach down and loop the forefinger of the right hand around the big toe of the right
foot and grasp the left foot with the left hand.
3. Bend the right knee, grasp the right foot with both hands and place the outside edge of the right
foot where the calf and thigh of the left leg meet, right ankle over left ankle. The heel of the right
foot should line up approximately with the navel and be as close to the pubic area as possible..
4. With palms up, place the hands on the knees, form a circle with the thumb and forefinger and
extend the remaining fingers straight ahead.
Comments:
The siddha-asana is complicated to describe but is actually one of the simpler sitting postures. It requires
less flexibility of the legs than the padma-asana yet it facilitates relaxation, concentration and
ultimately, meditation.
Siddha-asana helps to establish an equilibrium throughout the body/mind. It will also help stretch the legs
and pelvic area to the point where the padma-asana can be held effortlessly. Either posture, by creating a
firm foundation with the legs locked in a crossed position and the spine held straight and motionless,
awakens the attention and helps cultivate concentration. When concentration is highly focused and
undistracted, meditation follows.
Duration/Repetitions:
Sit in the siddha-asana for a minimum of 1 minute and extended the time up to ten minutes or more.
25. Simha – asana – The Lion Pose:
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Posture: Simha-asana - The Lion Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word simha which literally means "the powerful
one" is the word for "lion." This, therefore is known as the lion
posture, and one performing it can be said to resemble a
roaring lion about to attack.
Pronunciation: sin-gha-sa-na
Difficulty: (2)
Instructions:
1. Sit up on the knees with the heels of the feet pressed against the buttocks and the calves of the
legs flat on the floor.
2. Place the balls of the hands on the knees, straighten the arms and keep the back erect and the
head straight (not tilted forward, back, to the left or the right).
3. Inhale while leaning forward slightly, stretching the mouth the jaws as wide as possible, extend
the tongue out and downward as much as possible, fix your gaze either at the tip of the nose or
between the eyebrows and stretch the fingers straight out from the knees.
4. Hold the posture for the duration of the inhaled breath then exhale, relaxing the forward stretch,
dropping the fingers to the knees and closing the mouth and eyes.
Comments:
The simha-asana benefits parts of the body that most other asanas do not: the face, jaw, mouth, throat
and tongue. Those who experience tightness or discomfort in the jaws such as teeth grinding, clenched
jaws, a misaligned bite, etc. will benefit from both the jaw and tongue stretching of the simha-asana. This
asana is also known to help prevent or cure sore throats. The muscles and tissues of the face are
rejuvenated from the alternating stretching and release, an exercise they rarely get in the course of our
everyday lives. The fixed gaze relieves tense or burning eyes and the stretched fingers benefits the hands
and wrists.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the simha-asana for thirty to sixty seconds and repeat three to five times.
Variation:
Try roaring loadly like a lion as you enter into the Lion Pose while sticking your tongue out. This stimulates
the throat and cultivates courage and fearlessness. Kids love to do it, shouldn't adults as well?
26. Sirsha – asana – The Head Stand
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Posture: Sirsha-asana - The Head-stand
Translation:
The Sanskrit word sirsha means head. This posture is the wellknown
headstand posture, and perhaps second only to the
padma-asana or lotus posture, is widely identified with the
practice of Yoga.
Pronunciation: sir-shah-sa-na
Difficulty: (7)
Instructions:
1. Sit in a kneeling position with the buttocks resting on the heels of the feet.
2. Lean forward and place the forearms on the floor in front while keeping the elbows about
shoulder distance apart. Interlock the fingers of both hands.
3. Place the top of the head flat on the floor with the back of the head pressed against the inside of
the interlocked fingers.
4. Placing the tips of the toes firmly on the floor while lifting the heels, raise the knees off the floor.
5. Hold for the duration of the held inhaled breath. When you can't hold the breath comfortable any
longer, slowly exhale and return the back to the floor, slide the legs out straight returning to the
shava-asana.
Comments:
The siddha-asana is complicated to describe but is actually one of the simpler sitting postures. It requires
less flexibility of the legs than the padma-asana yet it facilitates relaxation, concentration and
ultimately, meditation.
Siddha-asana helps to establish an equilibrium throughout the body/mind. It will also help stretch the legs
and pelvic area to the point where the padma-asana can be held effortlessly. Either posture, by creating a
firm foundation with the legs locked in a crossed position and the spine held straight and motionless,
awakens the attention and helps cultivate concentration. When concentration is highly focused and
undistracted, meditation follows.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the sirsha-asana for 15-30 seconds when you first attempt it and increase the duration gradually
over a period of a few weeks. As you skill increases you should hold it for as long as you feel comfortable.
Cautions/Restrictions:
If you are new to Yoga we recommend that you find a qualified instructor to teach you this posture and
monitor you performance. If you attempting this alone position yourself in front of a wall as mentioned
above.
If you are suffering from high or low blood pressure you should not attempt this posture.
The sirsha-asana should not be performed by woman who are menstruating, as is the case with all
inverted postures (where the legs are raise over the head).
Variations:
There are several variations to the sirsha-asana that you can try when you are comfortable with the
standard variation. First try spreading your legs wide apart, carefully separating them very slowly, while
maintaining your balance, until they are as far apart as is comfortable. Bring your legs together before
returning from the posture. Next you can try placing the soles of your feet together while steadily holding
the pose.
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27. Tada – asana - The mountain Pose
Posture: Tada-asana - The Mountain Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word tada means mountain. This posture is also
known by the name samasthiti-asana. Sama means unmoved,
equilibrium, and sthiti means standing upright or firmly,
abiding, remaining, thus samasthiti means standing firmly
without moving.
Pronunciation: ta-dah-sa-na
Difficulty: (1)
Instructions:
1. Stand with both feet touching from the heel to the big toe, keeping the back straight and the
arms pressed slightly against the sides with palms facing inward.
2. Slightly tighten or flex the muscles in the knees, thighs, stomach and buttocks maintaining a firm
posture. Balance you weight evenly on both feet.
3. Inhale through the nostrils and lift the buttocks off the legs arching the back and thrusting the
abdomen forward and tilt the head as far back as possible.
Comments:
Many common ailments and discomforts can be traced to poor posture. If the spine is not properly aligned
or if there is tightness or stiffness in the back, the result is often an imbalance in the body. When this
imbalance becomes chronic many kinds of disorders arise in the organs, glands and nervous system.
Performing the tada-asana allows one to observe one's posture closely and clearly recognize those
problems which get masked or ignored by day-to-day activities. As the posture is held and the breath,
mind and body is quieted various effects will surface to indicate difficulties with the spine. Favoring one
foot over the other, shifting back and forth, drooped shoulders, tightness in the neck and upper or lower
back, and various other physiological disturbances may appear indicating the need for further yoga
practice.
The proper execution and continual practice of the tada-asana along with other postures helps to re-train
the body to stand correctly and reverse the negative effects of poor posture.
When the tad-asana is performed properly and the mind is focused and free of distraction, the body is
experienced as being rooted firmly to the earth and as steady and motionless as a mountain.
Duration/Repetitions:
One repetition for several minutes is advisable. The tada-asana is also recommended prior to and
following any other standing posture.
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28. Trikona – asana – The Triangle Pose
Posture: Trikona-asana - The Triangle Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word tri means three and kona means corner or
angle. Thus "three corner or three angle posture" is often called
the triangle posture. This posture is also known as the utthita
trikona-asana. Utthita means stretched or extended thus this is
the Extended Triangle Pose.
Pronunciation: tri-cone-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3)
Instructions:
1. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tada-asana).
2. Separate the feet slightly further than shoulder distance apart.
3. Inhale and raise both arms straight out from the shoulders parallel to the floor with the palms
facing down.
4. Exhale slowly while turning the torso to the left, bend at the waist and bring the right hand down
to the left ankle. The palm of the right hand is placed along the outside of the left ankle. The left
arm should be extended upward. Both legs and arms are kept straight without bending the knees
and elbows.
5. Turn the head upward to the left and gaze up at the fingertips of the left hand. Inhale and return
to a standing position with the arms outstretched.
6. Hold this position for the duration of the exhaled breath. Exhale and repeat steps 4 - 6 on the
opposite side.
Comments:
The trikona-asana is an excellent posture to do early in your routine. The forward bending and lifting
stimulates blood flow and helps to stretch and relax the back, shoulders, legs and arms as well as
increases the flow of blood to the head. The muscles of the thighs and calves as well as the hamstrings
are stretched. The slight twist of the spine creates suppleness in the spinal discs and relieves lower back
discomforts.
The posture can be held longer by breathing gently through the nostrils rather than holding the breath.
Another variation is to perform the trikona-asana rapidly thereby giving it a slightly aerobic effect.
Duration/Repetitions:
Remain in the forward bending position for the duration of the exhale breath. Do two or three repetitions
(one repetition consists of bending forward on both sides).
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29. Ugra – asana – The Noble Pose
Posture: Ugra-asana - The Noble Pose
Translation:
The Sanskrit word ugra means powerful, mighty, strong or
noble. We usually keep this posture untranslated but it can be
called the noble or powerful posture.
Alternate
name:
Also known as the pascimottana-asana or the brahmacharyaasana.
The word pascima can mean behind, later, last or final
but it literally means "western" as in the direction.
Pascimottana thus means back-stretching posture.
Pronunciation: oo-grah-sa-na
Difficulty: (4)
Instructions:
1. Sit on the floor with the legs together and extended straight out in front. Keep the back straight,
shoulders level and head straight. Place the hands, palms down, flat on top of the thighs then
inhale deeply.
2. Exhale and extend the arms straight out in front, parallel with the floor with fingers pointed
straight ahead and palms facing down.
3. Inhale slowly while raising the arms over the head, keeping them straight, and bending as far
back as is comfortable. Tilt the head back and look up at the hands.
4. Exhale slowly bending forward at the waist and grasp the feet with the hands. Bring the head as
close to the knees as possible, placing it on the knees if you can, keeping the legs straight. (If
you are unable to grasp the feet then grasp the ankles).
5. Hold that position for the duration of the exhale breath.
6. Inhale slowly and return to the seated position described in step #1.
Comments:
When the ugra-asana is properly performed, all the vertabrae of the spine and each muscle in the back is
stretched. This type of stretching is highly beneficial. Try it regularly for a week and you will, without
doubt, notice the benefits.
The compression or contraction of the stomach followed by the release increases blood flow to the
abdominal region and tones the muscles. Gas is release and sluggish digestion and/or constipation is
improved. The muscles in the calves and thighs get a good stretching, helping to relieve fatigue and
soreness in the lower extremities.
Duration/Repetitions:
Repeat this posture two or three times holding each repetition for the duration of the exhaled breath and
take at least three deep breaths in-between each repetition. As you become more adept at doing the
ugra-asana you may begin breathing slowly through the nostrils while holding the posture to increase its
duration.
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30. Ushtra – asana – The Camel Pose
Posture: Ushtra-asana - The Camel Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word ushtra means camel.
Pronunciation: oosh-trah-sa-na
Difficulty: (5)
Instructions:
1. Sit up on the knees with the heels of the feet pressed against the buttocks and the
calves of the legs flat on the floor.
2. Reaching backward, grasp the left ankle with the left hand and right ankle with the
right hand.
3. Inhale through the nostrils and lift the buttocks off the legs arching the back and
thrusting the abdomen forward and tilt the head as far back as possible.
4. Either hold the posture for the duration of the inhale breath or breath gently through
the nostrils while holding the posture.
5. Exhale and return to the kneeling position.
Comments:
The ushtra-asana is a powerful posture for streatching the spine, back muscles, shoulders and arms. It is
best to practice it later in your asana routine after most of the muscles are limber and and you have
worked the back and shoulders.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the posture for the duration of the inhaled breath. If you choose to breath while holding the ushtraasana,
hold it for between thirty seconds to one minute. Repeat the posture three times.
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31. Vajra – asana – The Thunderbolt Pose
Posture:
Vajra-asana
The Thunderbolt or Diamond Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word vajra means thunderbolt or diamond.
Pronunciation: vuh-drah-sa-na
Difficulty: (2)
Instructions:
1. The vajra-asana is a seated posture. Begin by sitting back on your heels and placing
your knees, legs and feet together.
2. Keeping the back straight place the palms of your hands down on top of your thights.
3. Breath gently thorugh your nostrils and sit in this position for at least three minutes.

The vajra-asana is a versatile posture well suited for meditation, rest in between other seated postures, or
as an aid to digestion.
The vajra-asana is the position in various other yoga postures such as the anjaneya-asana (salutation
posture) and the ushtra-asana (the camel).
Duration/Repetitions:
The vajra-asana can be held for as long as is comfortable(and depending on the reason for doing the
posture).
32. Vira – asana – The Hero Pose
Posture: Vira-asana - The Hero Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word vira means hero, brave or eminent man, or
warrior.
Pronunciation: veer-ah-sa-na
Difficulty: (2)
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Instructions:
1. Kneel on the floor with the calves and tops of the feet flat on the floor and the thighs touching.
2. Slowly spread the feet, about shoulder distance apart, while keeping the knees together. Place
the buttocks flat on the floor. The outer sides of the thighs are touching the inner sides of the
calves and the soles of the feet are exposed facing up. Place the hands palms downs, on the
knees and form a circle with the thumb and forefinger (in the chin-mudra) while pointing the
other fingers straight ahead.
3. Breath slowly and deeply through the nostrils and remain motionless for six complete breaths (an
inhale and exhale is one complete breath).
4. Inhale slowly and stretch the arms straight up over the head and interlock the fingers with the
palms pushed upward. Remain in this position for six complete breaths.
5. Exhale slowly, release the fingers and slowly bend forward at the waist while placing the palms of
the hands flat on the soles of the feet. Place the chin between the knees.
6. Hold this position for the duration of six complete breaths.Inhale, raise the chest up, stretch the
legs straight ahead and place the hands, palms down, on top of the thighs.
Comments:
The vira-asana is an alternative to the padma-asana, siddha-asana, as well as other seated postures,
for mediation and pranayama.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the posture from several minutes as part of an asana session or for the duration of your meditation
or pranyama.
Variations:
The Supta-vira-asana variation (supta is the Sanskrit word for "lying down") stretches the abdominal
muscles and relieves pain and discomfort in the legs. Begin the posture as detailed above then incline
backwards and lean the back on the floor. The arms are stretch straight above the shoulders and kept flat
on the floor.
33. Vriksha – asana – The Tree Pose
Posture: Vriksha-asana - The Tree Pose
Translation: The Sanskrit word vriksha means tree, thus this is the Tree
Posture.
Pronunciation: vrik-shah-sa-na
Difficulty: (3-4)
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"Standing straight on the left leg, bend the right leg and place the right foot on the root of the left thigh.
Stand thus like a tree on the ground. This is called vriksha-asana."
Gheranda-samhita II.36
Instructions:
1. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides (see the tad-asana).
2. Bend the right leg at the knee, raise the right thigh and bring the sole of the right foot as high up
the inside of the left thigh as possible.
3. Balancing on the left foot, raise both arms over the head keeping the elbows unbent and joining
the palms together. Hold the posture while breathing gently through the nostrils for about 10
complete breaths.
4. Lower the arms and right leg and return to the tad-asana, standing position with feet together
and arms at the sides. Pause for a few moments and repeat on the opposite leg.
Comments:
The challenge of the vriksha-asana is maintaining balance on one leg. Poor balance is often the result of a
restless mind or distracted attention. Regular practice of this posture will help focus the mind and cultivate
concentration (dharana).
When practicing vriksha-asana it may help to imagine or picture a tree in the mind and apply the following
technique: Imagine that the foot you are balanced on is the root of the tree and the leg is the trunk.
Continue by imagining the head and outstretched arms as the branches and leaves of the tree. You may
be unsteady for a while and find the body swaying back and forth, but don't break the concentration. Like
a tree bending in the wind and yet remaining upright, the body can maintain balance.
Aim to achieve the "rootedness" and firmness of a tree. Regular practice of the vriksha-asana improves
concentration, balance and coordination. Because the weight of the entire body is balanced on one foot,
the muscles of that leg are strengthened and toned as well.
As you advance in this posture and are able to remain standing for more than a few moments, try closing
the eyes and maintaining your balance.
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the vriksha-asana as long as your comfortably can. Repeat it two or three times on each leg.
34. Vrischika – asana – The Scorpion Pose
Posture:
Vrischika-asana
The Scorpion Pose
Translation:
Vrischika is the Sanskrit word for scorpion. This posture is so
named because the body resembles a scorpion with its tail
arched above its head ready to sting its victim. Although it may
not be a simple posture for beginners to perform, the Scorpion
is not as difficult as it may at first seem.
Pronunciation: vrik-shah-sa-na
Difficulty: (7)
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Instructions:
1. Kneel on the floor and lean forward placing the elbows and forearms flat on the floor
with the palms facing down. Your arms should be placed about shoulder-distance
apart.
2. Extend your head forward and lift it as high as possible.
3. Raise the buttocks and place the feet firmly on the bottoms the toes.
4. Inhale a swing the legs up and over the head while maintaining your balance. Bring
the legs straight up over your head.
5. Slowly bend the knees and drop the legs toward the head being careful not to move
too quickly or drop the legs to far while maintaining balance.
6. Reverse the steps above and return to a kneeling position.
Comments:
The Scorpion should not be attempted until you are comfortable with all the balance postures (e.g.:
Vriksha-asana, Ekapada-asana, etc.) as well as the Headstand (Sirsha-asana). Beginners should do
this posture under the supervision of a qualified teacher. When first attempting the Scorpion asana you
may want to try it while facing a wall. Position yourself so that when you are doing step #1 above your
head is about 2 - 3 feet from the wall. This way if you lose your balance you can use the wall for support.
This posture will provide maximum stretch to the neck, spine and chest. It combines many of the benefits
of the Chakra-asana (the Wheel posture) and the Sirsha-asana (the Headstand).
Duration/Repetitions:
Hold the vrischika-asana for as long as you are comfortable. Keep in mind that returning from the posture
gracefully without falling out of it will take some strength, so don't hold it too long. 20-30 seconds is fine
for early attempts, increase the time gradually as you become more proficient.
Variations:
There are two common variations to this posture illustrated and described below:
To do the first variation, illustrated above, after entering the Scorpion as described above slowly raise the
legs straight up until your feet are directly over your head (you won't, of course, be able to see this but
you will easily be able to feel when they are properly positioned). This variation requires a bit more
strength and a stronger sense of balance then pose described above.

WOMEN'S AND CAREER

2007-10-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

How Important Is Career For Women?

70 percent of the women surveyed derived a sense of personal accomplishment from work, and30percent indicated that they prefer work outside the home to homemaking. Other research suggests that most women will be employed outside the home at some time in their adult lives and that work will have great importance in their lives.

What Are the Career Development Patterns of Women?

The career development patterns of women are varied and have traditionally been influenced by the demands of the family. However, there is a trend toward more consistent, long-term participation by women in the labor force. Several writers have developed schemes to describe women's career patterns.

no work experience,

work only until marriage and/or birth of children,

combine work with marriage and/or children,

reenter the labor force when children are older, and

remain single and pursue career.

What Influences Women's Career Decisions?

Key career decisions include whether to have a career, which occupational field to enter, and when to work. Variables that help predict men's career decisions (interests, aptitudes, and career maturity) are less useful for predicting women's career decisions. If this is true, what factors intervene to modify this process? One factor is occupational stereotyping or normative views of whether occupations are appropriate for men or women. The tendency for women's career decisions to be influenced by others is another factor. there are three groups of women:

the internalizers who set their own career goals,

the identifiers who set goals based on the influence of significant others, and

the compliers who had no career goals and selected options at the last minute.

Career role models also influence women's career decisions. Several writers have found that daughters of working mothers have a higher career orientation than daughters of homemakers. However, this finding is tempered by the mother's satisfaction with her work role. Within some occupational fields and areas of study, there have been few female role models. This fact has supported the high distribution of women in traditionally female occupations.

What are the Characteristics of Women With High Career Orientation?

A summary of factors associated with high career commitment gives clues about other factors that affect women's career decisions. These include positive self-concepts and higher self-esteem; male-associated characteristics such as self-directedness, assertiveness, and independence as well as female-associated characteristics; access to role models who set high educational and occupational aspirations; willingness to modify family roles to accommodate careers; higher educational levels; and achievement needs that are higher than affiliation needs.

MEN'S ROLE IN PARENTING AND HOMEMAKING IN THEIR FAMILIES

Research on men in family roles has also been neglected until recently. As woman are placing increased emphasis on work roles, men's family roles are being influenced.

Do Men Participate in Family Roles?

That men spend little time participating in household and child-rearing activities. Time spent on child-rearing tasks by men average from 1.7 to 2.8 hours per week. Fathers do spend more time playing with their children, an average of 9 hours per week. Men spend an average of 11.2 hours per week on household tasks as compared to 53.2 hours for wifes who work outside the home. Some research is indicating a shift toward greater balance in time allocation for dual-earner couples.

Are Men Psychologically Involved with Family?

Fathers report being highly psychologically involved with their families. They report that they more often think about family than about work and that the most important things that have happened to them relate to family. Also, when asked whether family or work provided more satisfaction, less than 5 percent indicated work, about 50 percent said they receive equal satisfaction from work and family, and about 45 percent see family as more satisfying than work.

Are Men Competent Parents?

Recent research has focused on men's parenting behaviors using observational techniques. Fathers have been found to be competent and responsive caretakers, both in terms of their use of certain caretaking behaviors and responsiveness to infant cues. Observations with infants show fathers to be active and competent caretakers. Children show strong attachment to both father and mother as compared to strangers. They tend to seek fathers for play activities and mothers when they are fatigued, alarmed, or stressed.

How Does Parenting Benefit Fathers?

Fathers who are more actively involved in parenting report that they have more open communication with their children, know their children better, and enjoy being with their children. Some fathers report more conflicts with their children but feel that this is healthy and results in a more realistic view of their children.

THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN

Several writers speak to the needs of children.whereas basic parenting does not require a mother at home, it does require that one or both parents be involved in active parenthood with enough time, energy, and commitment for effective parenting.

Research on the effects of parents' working has focused on maternal employment. Some contend that this represents a bias, in that there is no evidence suggesting that mothers' or fathers' employment has only good or only bad effects on all children in all circumstances. Some studies suggest that maternal employment has a more negative effect on sons than on daughters. Other research shows benefits of maternal employment. There is a need for future research to focus on family rather than maternal employment patterns and to expand the effects on children to include social, emotional, and behavioral as well as cognitive and achievement effects. In addition to studying what is, researchers need to imagine what could be. Social changes are occurring to accommodate the needs of families in the family-career connection. These changes are being initiated by community members, employers, and public policymakers.

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

People need to recognize that planning for career roles and planning for family roles are closely related tasks. Many have felt the pain of competition between career and family roles, but few have had assistance in clarifying the conflicts and developing career and family goals that are personally satisfying and mutually supportive to other family members. The following goals can provide a framework to enhance career development programs. Programs can help youth and adults:

Increase awareness of current and future trends that affect the family-career connection

These trends are found in various fields such as labor market statistics, policy information, and family and career development research. Materials and strategies that integrate these trends are needed. However, information is not enough. Imaging techniques can be used to personalize the meaning of these trends for individual life plans.

Identify and cope with family and career development stages that carry heavy role demands

When family and career development are discussed concurrently, individuals can recognize that some stages carry heavier role demands than others. Many strategies are available to moderate role demands. Career development programs need to allow participants the freedom to select the strategies that are most congruent with their goals and values. These strategies include timing, accommodation, reduction in family size, and negotiation. Timing strategies include such decisions as when and whether to marry, start a family, or enter into a career. Accommodation includes redefinition of standards of performance for career and family, thus freeing energy and time to deal with both roles. Reduction of size of family decreases family demands and the length of time spent in high-demand family development stages. Finally, negotiation involves being open within families to reassigning roles among family members.

Identify and deal with barriers to implementing their family-career plans

Barriers to implementing new family-career goals include those within the individual, within the family, within the employment situation and within the community and broader society. First, these barriers need to be identified. When they are within the individual or the family, a variety of counseling experiences can be helpful in reducing both individual conflicts and in increasing understanding and cooperation within the family. Barriers within the employment situation and community can be reduced through such strategies as carefully evaluating employment situations in light of both career and family variables and using advocacy measures to increase employer and community awareness of benefits and services needed to support the family-career connection.

Increase understanding of the personal benefits of combining family and career

Those men and women who are combining career and family in nontraditional ways are reporting benefits to self and family. Helping people understand these benefits can increase motivation for reevaluation and change. Career-oriented women seem to combine male-associated characteristics such as self-directedness, assertiveness, independence, and self-sufficiency with more traditional feminine characteristics. Men who assume primary responsibility for child care tend to behave more like fathers in their interactions with their children but more like mothers in their willingness to assume primary responsibility. They also report better understanding of and communication with their children. Such testimony from parents suggesting positive benefits can help women and men develop belief in new options.

YOGA AND HEALTH

2007-10-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

YOGA AND HEALTH
Yoga is a psycho-physical discipline with roots going back about 5,000 years. Today, most Yoga practices in the West focuses on the physical postures called "asanas," breathing exercises called "pranayama," and meditation. However, there's more to it than that, and the deeper you go the richer and more diverse the tradition becomes. The word "Yoga" means union. Linguistically, it is related to the Old English "yoke." Traditionally, the goal of Yoga is union with the Absolute, known as Brahma, or with Atma, the inner self. These days, focus is on the more down-to-earth benefits, like improved physical fitness, mental clarity, greater self-understanding, stress control and general well-being. Spirituality, however, is a strong underlying theme in most practices. The beauty of Yoga is its versatility, allowing practitioners to focus on the physical, psychological or spiritual, or a combination of all three.

Yoga has three main techniques:

Asanas or poses

The various yogic poses give your body flexibility and strengthen the muscles. Many asanas are aimed at improving blood circulation and functioning of specific organs in the body.Pranayama or breathing

Pranayama is actually the most important aspect of yoga as they cleanse the subtle energies flowing through the body. These breathing techniques are an effective way to energize, harmonize and tranquillize the body, spirit and mind.

Meditation

Mediation is an important way in managing stress and anxiety. Regular meditation trains the mind to be calm and relaxed; it curtails overreaction, emotional outbursts and temper tantrums.

When these three techniques are done together in sync the health benefits to the mind, soul and body are tremendous.

Benefits

Yoga has many health benefits, the main are:

1) Yoga asanas massages all organs of the body. It works on the internal organs in a systematic manner. This stimulation of the organs benefits us by keeping away disease.

2) Yoga increases the lubrication of joints, ligament and tendons. Yoga positions exercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body.

3) Yoga offers a complete detoxification of the body. It ensures the maximum blood supply to various parts of the body, which helps in the flushing out of toxins from all over the body.

4) Yoga exercises strengthen the nervous system through its non-tiring physiological asanas.

5) Yoga breathing exercises and meditations develop parts of the brain that are normally dormant.

Conditions Benefited By Yoga

Though yoga has a beneficiary effect on all ailments, the ailments mentioned below have specially been helped by yogic practices,

• Acid Stomach

• Addictions

• Asthma

• Backache

• Bronchitis

• Cold

• Constipation

• Depression

• Diabetes

• Emphysema

• Eyestrain

• Flatulence

• Headache

• Heart Disorders,

• Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)

• Indigestion

• Insomnia

• Menstrual disorders

• Migraines

• Neurasthenia

• Obesity

• Premenstrual Tension

• Prostate troubles

• Pain Management

• Rheumatism

• Sciatica

• Sexual debility

• Sinus• Skin diseases

• Sore throat

• Stress And Tension

• Wrinkles

Yoga helps to makes the body more flexible and helps you relax even at times of great stress. Practicing yoga makes you feel fitter, more energetic, happier and peaceful.

The Problem Of Obesity-Health-and-Fitness

2007-09-26T00:37:00.000-07:00

Diet in Overweight

When we eat more food than required an adipose tissue gets added. That is obtainable only from the food; we do not get it from the air we breathe in! Even if we consume fifty calories of extra food daily at end of a year we can easily weigh four pounds more. Thus the main reasons for obesity is more than enough food and almost nil exercise or even not at all!
Losing weight means losing excess fat. A pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories. To lose 1 pound a week, you would need to cut 500 calories a day or increase fat-burning activity by 500 calories a day. A diet of at least 1,200 calories for women and 1,400 calories for men is advised, since calorie intake that is any lower may eliminate essential nutrients and increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies. Diet and Regimen:
· Avoid excess eating, eating during indigestion or just after taking pervious meal.

· Avoid day sleeping; sleep in the night after one hour of your dinner.

· Do regular exercise like brisk walking (at least), running, swimming etc. avoid sedentary and lethargic lifestyle.

· Avoid eating excess sweets. Have low fat/skim dairy products. Avoid product like chocolates, ice creams, cheese, paneer, sugar etc.

· Take non-vegetarian food like chicken, fishes, eggs, meats etc. in moderate quantity. Avoid red meat (lamb/pork/beef) but be on white meat (chicken/fish). Remove fat from meat & skin from chicken.

· Try to minimize excess oil & ghee in cooking, Use a nonstick pan for cooking. avoid hydrogenated vegetable oils, Instead of frying things try to consume roasted things & change your cooking techniques a little. Grill or bake food instead of frying. Cook vegetables without fat by steaming and boiling.

· Use low fat spreads and chutney on bread instead of butter and cheese.

· Don't consume excess alcoholic drinks or water on empty stomach. Avoid aerated drinks and cold drinks.

· Intake of fat and carbohydrates should be restricted.

· Fruits and green vegetables are low calorie foods, so over weight persons should use these more frequently. Include the green leafy vegetables, sprouted moong beans in your salad. Salad is to be taken without any dressing . If you want relish it, take it with lemon juice and salt. Salad should form a major part of meals

· One should avoid intake of too much salt . Salt may be a factor for increasing the body weight.

· Milk products like cheese, butter should be avoided because these are rich in fat.

· Vegetables like bitter gourd (Karela), and bitter variety of drumstick are useful for loosing weight.

· Spices like dry ginger, cinnamon, black pepper etc. are good for loosing weight and can be used in a number of ways. .

· Do not drink water immediately after meals. Drink it after half an hour. Try to drink warm water.

· Serve dressing and rich sauces separately so that you can minimize their intake.

How Many Calories Are BurnedDuring Exercise
· Our body needs constant energy to maintain itself,so even when we're fast asleep, it is still burning up calories!
· However, most of us do not take enough exercise during our waking hours!
· Ideally, we should aim to take 20-45 minutes exercise a day.
· To see which exercise burns up what calories, see chart below.

Type of Exercise Calories/hour
Sleeping 55
Eating 85
Sewing 85
Knitting 85
Sitting 85
Standing 100
Driving 110
Office Work 140
Housework, moderate 160+
Golf, with trolley 180
Golf, without trolley 240
Gardening, planting 250
Dancing, ballroom 260
Walking, 3mph 280
Table Tennis 290
Gardening, hoeing etc. 350
Tennis 350+
Water Aerobics 400
Skating/blading 420+
Dancing, aerobic 420+
Aerobics 450+
Bicycling, moderate 450+
Jogging, 5mph 500
Gardening, digging 500
Swimming, active 500+
Cross country ski machine 500+
Hiking 500+
Step Aerobics 550+
Rowing 550+
Power Walking 600+
Cycling, studio 650
Squash 650+
Skipping with rope 700+
Running 700+

Exercise for your health!

Diet recommended to lose weight

· Early morning

Juice of half a lemon mixed in a glass of warm water and a teaspoon of honey.

· Breakfast

Wheat or Mung bean sprouts and a cup of skimmed milk.

· Midmorning

A glass of orange, pineapple or carrot juice.
· Lunch
· Salad of raw vegetables such as carrot, beet, cucumber, cabbage, tomatoes Steamed or boiled vegetables
· Whole grain bread or whole wheat chapatis (Indian bread) and a glass of buttermilk.
· Roasted cumin seeds, green coriander leaves, a little salt and some grated ginger mixed in the buttermilk.

· Mid-afternoon
· Coconut water
· Dry fruits
· Lemon tea
· Fresh vegetable soup

· Dinner
· Whole grain bread or chapatis
· Steamed vegetables
· Seasonal fruits except banana and apple.

Home Remedies for Losing Weight
· Increase the quantity of fruits and vegetables and low calorie foods.

· Avoid intake of too much salt as it may be a factor for increasing body weight.

· Milk products like cheese, butter etc. and non-vegetarian foods should be avoided as they are rich in fat.

· Mint is very beneficial in losing weight. A chutney of green mint with some simple spices can be taken with meals. Mint tea also helps.

· Spices like dry ginger, cinnamon, black pepper etc. are good for loosing weight and can be used in a number of ways.

· Regular intake of carrot juice.

· Avoid rice and potato, which contain a lot of carbohydrates. Among cereals wheat is good.

· Vegetables like bitter gourd (Karela), and bitter variety of drumstick are useful in loosing weight.

· Honey is an excellent home remedy for obesity. It mobilizes the extra deposited fat in the body allowing it to be utilized as energy for normal functions.Dosage: One should start with small quantity of about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken with hot water early in the morning. A teaspoonful of fresh lemon juice may also be added.

· Fasting on honey and lime- juice is highly beneficial in the treatment of obesity without the loss of energy and appetite. For this, mix one teaspoon of fresh honey with the juice of half a lime in a glass of lukewarm water.Dosage: Take several times a day at regular intervals.

· Raw or cooked cabbage inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat. Hence, it is of great value in weight reduction.

· Exercise is an important part of any weight reduction plan. It helps to use up calories stored in body as fat.

· Walking is the best exercise to begin with and may be followed by running, swimming or rowing.

· The gum of Commiphora Mukul called 'guggulu' is the drug of choice for the treatment of obesity.
Preparation of Home RemediesAccording to ayurveda home remedies are prepared in the same way and with the same purpose as other ayurvedic medicines. The main aim is to obtain the maximum therapeutic benefit while making it palatable.

Some common methods of preparing home remedies are:

· Juice--The juice may be taken from the fresh leaves, flowers or stems of the herb. The part of the herb used should be crushed or ground in a mortar and pestle, to make a paste. This paste should be put in a piece of cloth and squeezed to take out the juice.Dosage: One to two tablespoons twice a day.

· Powder--Dried herbs are used for powders. The herbs are usually dried in a cool, shady and well-ventilated place, although some herbs are dried in direct sunlight. The herbs are then ground into a fine powder and stored in a dry, airtight bottle. The powder may be taken with water, or if specified, with milk or honey.Dosage: Half to one teaspoon twice a day

· Decoction--A decoction is prepared by boiling the herb in water (ratio: 1 part herb to 16 parts water). The herbs are broken into pieces and soaked in water overnight. This mixture is then boiled until it reduces to one quarter of the original volume. It is then filtered and stored in a glass bottle.Dosage: One to two tablespoons twice a day.

· Infusion--Herbs are soaked in water to make an infusion (ratio: 1 part herb to 8 parts water). Hot infusions result from adding herbs to hot water, or gently heating but not boiling the mixture. This is strained and taken internally. Herbal teas are forms of hot infusions. Cold infusions are made from soaking the herb overnight. Honey can be added.Dosage: half to one cup once or twice day.

· Paste --A paste can be made from either fresh or dried herbs. The flowers, roots, stems, leaves or bark are ground and mixed with water. Pastes are mainly used for external application, in cases of cuts, burns and swellings. The paste should be thick enough to be applied in a layer to the skin.

· Tablets--The herbs should be first dried separately and then mixed together in a powder form, in fixed proportions. Water or herbal juice can be added to this powder to make a paste, from which tablets of a specific size or weight are made. Tablets remain potent longer than juices, powders, pastes or decoctions.Dosage: 1 or 2 tablets twice a day.

· Medicated ghee and oilGhee-- is cooked with herbal juices, decoctions or pastes. The ghee should be heated with the herbal mixture at a moderate, controlled temperature. High temperatures can easily burn the ghee or oil, destroying its effectiveness. Medicated ghee and oils are either used internally or massaged externally.Dosage: Half to one tablespoon.

Relationship..beauty of women

2007-09-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

Relationships are not only about taking; they are about giving as well.We all want to be loved and have a happy and long-lasting relationship with a person that we care about many relationships end very quickly, because people fail to sustain them. If you have a history of bad relationship in the past, this article can be really helpful to you.Having a strong and exciting relationship is an art that should be learned and applied in every day’s life. Make sure that your significant other feels your love, support and encouragement. It is so nice to go home and know that there is someone ready to listen and to comfort you if needed.
Men and women have different communication styles, different needs and desires, and different relationship challenges. Learning these differences can assist us in strengthening the relationships we have now and in the future

Try to brighten up your partner’s day by cooking a gourmet dinner, buying him/her a little gift or arranging a romantic weekend for the two of you. Love is like a flame, if left to the mercy of fate, it is dying down. If there is a problem between the two of you,dont use a silent ,blame, blackmailing, the person that you love. It will only lead to an argument or unneeded outbursts of anger. Never go to bad mad at each other.Every morning make a conscious commitment to eliminate blame, criticism, and invalidation from your side of the relationship. If it leaks out, acknowledge it, and apologize to your partner
Try to patch things before the bedtime. It will give you time to calm down and in the morning everything will seem in different light. Do not try to change your partner. You have to face it! People don’t change
We may try to learn from our mistakes and act a little bit differently in some situations, but we can’t become someone we are not. You have to love the other person the way he/she is.
Do not lower your partner’s self-esteem by making comparisons with other people and letting him/her know that he/she is losing in comparison.Give your partner some free space. Don’t cling and demand from the person that you care about to spend all of his/her free time with you.
Try not to start your sentences with “you should”, “you shouldn’t”. No one likes to be ordered around and told what to do. You have to realize that you and your partner have absolutely equal rights in this relationship. You have to respect his/her wishes and decisions even if you don’t agree with them.With the little patience, understanding and creativity you can turn even the short affair into an amazing long-lasting passionate relationship!
Healthy Sex is very important for your Relationships.give time two your partner

Remember
Don’t go to a third party for advice unless this person has been a long term relationship that has worked. You don’t need advice from someone who doesn’t know how to make their own relationships work out well. Be careful family members are good to give advice but they won’t take advice from you about their own failing relationships.

Deal With your Teenage Daughter

2007-09-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

O ne of the most daunting tasks in life experienced by a parent is to understand their teenage daughter problum.specially in india It is always tough to understand the behavioral aspects, feelings, wishes and requirements of an adolescent girl. However, there are certain common behavioral patterns that are observed in every teenage girl and can be a useful resource material to several needy parents.
Changing preferences is a very common symptom observed during teenage.Teenagers are very anxious and confused with their futures. Teenagers often suffer with temporary aloofness where they become more self-conscious, perplexed and are occupied with a feeling that their future has no social security.
In order to satiate their anxiousness, teenagers often get addicted to smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse and diet pills. Some teenagers even show a tendency for ‘self-mutilation’ or suicide. Teenager girls often tend to suffer with various disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and compulsive eating disorder. Distorted sexual attitude in adolescent girls can be due to uncontrolled exposure to pornography and sexually outrageous media. Adolescent girls tend to spend hours chatting and browsing on the internet.Rather than reprimanding your teenage daughter and finding faults with her behavior, it is better to befriend her. She may not consider you her best friend during her adolescent years but she would definitely not regard you as her enemy. It is hard to keep your cool but do not lose your temper. Try to reason with you adolescent daughter rather than screaming and shouting at her. You will be amazed at the results.
Determine what specifically bothers you about the way she dresses and the fact that she changes her clothes after she leaves the house in defiance of your rules. Your options include: Talk it out with a non-judgmental friend; write about it in your journal; or just think about it. Emotions to consider: Are you worried about what people will think of her? Angry that she disobeys you? Scared that she may get herself into a situation she can't handle?
Find a time to talk to your daughter when both of you will be relaxed and not bothered by other things Think about dinner time, driving to school, or going out for ice cream. You may even want to have several of these "sessions" before bringing up the clothing issue.
Start a casual conversation about anything to set the mood as chummy. Picking a topic that you both dislike and can make fun of is a good start.
When talking about ramifications, talk about the reactions that she will get and what people will think. Include teachers, grandparents, friends and possible friends.
Listen, listen, listen. If it starts to get heated stop and take a deep breath and say: "I think there are some things about this that you would like to say to me. In the past I may or may not have listened. Right now I'm ready to listen, so please take your time and don't be angry with me. That will make it easier for me to understand your point."
When you have listened to everything she has to say, ask her to listen to you and cover steps 4 and 5 again if you need to.
Agree to disagree. Talk about how you can find a solution that would work for both of you. Be prepared to compromise. Insist that she not change after she leaves the house as it is childish and fosters a lack of trust between the two of you.
Identify where you are not willing to compromise. Be clear and specific. After all, you are the parent.
The clothing that has been identified as completely unacceptable should not be in her possession. Give it to Goodwill or the like.
Agree to come back to the subject in a week or two to see how the solution is working. Then make sure you do!

Tips

Talk to her like she's an adult, especially when talking about ramifications. Privileges come with responsibilities.

You may need to have a couple of fun conversations with her before you can move into the clothing conversation. Use your own judgment.

It may not be fair or just but one of the results of dressing provocatively is that men are extremely likely to become sexually aggressive towards her. Is she able to handle the consequences?

If clothing she should not own re-appears in her closet, figure out where it came from. If she is buying it with an allowance, this income needs to be circumvented.

If a friend is buying it, this friendship needs to be addressed.
Take her to the mall, or look through a catalogue together, and identify clothing that she considers stylish and you consider respectable. Show her that there are many ways to look pretty without looking trashy. Point out pictures of celebrities you both like dressed in a way that you approve of.

If you feel yourself losing control of your emotions or the situation, signal for a time out. Say, "give me a moment, I need to gather my thoughts." Then walk away.

Take deep slow breaths. Think about your values and what it is that you want to teach your daughter. Focus on the result you want to produce.

Problum Acne...natural home remedies for Acne

2007-09-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Acne is an inflammatory disease, involving the sebaceous glands, usually chronic in
... Symptoms—Acne is one of the most common diseases of the skin.suffer the indignity of acne which can have a negative effect on them psychologically. Acne is a skin inflammatory disease caused when bacteria clog the oil glands present in the skin.which is the most common skin disease in all country.The disease occurs in young individuals exhibiting other evidences of the ... Acne vulgaris.Acne results in the formation of pimples, whiteheads and blackheads on the face, hands, neck, back and virtually on any part of the body. Many times, acne causes formation of permanent marks on the region if not treated in time. Acne can be easily treated by employing certain home-based remedial measures.The lesions are usually found on the skin of the face,neck,chest and shoulders.Nearly six out of ten young people between the ages of twelve and twenty-four suffer from some degree of acne.The disease causes a great deal of embarrassment at an age when people end to be sensitive about their personal appearance.
Adolescents often suffer the indignity of acne which can have a negative effect on them psychologically. Acne is a skin inflammatory disease caused when bacteria clog the oil glands present in the skin. Acne results in the formation of pimples, whiteheads and blackheads on the face, hands, neck, back and virtually on any part of the body. Many times, acne causes formation of permanent marks on the region if not treated in time. Acne can be easily treated by employing certain home-based remedial measures.

Best home remedy for Acne

Simple remedy at home with Lemonapplied Lemon juice regulary .it proved very beneficial in reducing pimples and acne.

Simple remedy at home with Orange peel
Homemade Acne Treatment using orange peel has been found very effective.mix orange peel with water on a piece stone and apply to acne effected areas.

Simple remedy at home with Garlic
Garlic has been used successfully to cure ance.Rub with raw garlic several times a day.garlic is known to have cured the toughest of acne problem.The external use of garlic helps to clear the skin of sports,pimles and bolis.Acne can further be cured by eating three seed of raw garlic once daily for a month.This purifies the blood stream and ensures basic cleansing of blood keeping acne away.

Simple remedy at home with Mint juice&Coriander
A teasppon of coriander juice,mixed with a pinch of turmeric powder ,is another effective home remedy for pimples and blackheads.The mixture should be applied to the face after thoroughly washing it every night before retiring.Mint juice can be used in a similar manner as coriander juice.

Simple remedy at home with Fenuqreek
A paste made of the leaves of this vegetable,applied over the face every night before going to bed and washed with warm water in the morning,prevents pimples and blackheads.

Simple remedy at home with Cucumber
Grated cucumber applied over the face,eyes and neck for ffteen to twenty minutes has been found effective.It is the best tonic for the skin of the face.Its regular use prevents pimple and blackheads.

variable organic for woman

2007-09-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

If gold and silver jewelry is too expensive, then organic or u can say junk jewelry.it can provide the same decoration for a much cheaper price. Today, organic jewelry has evolved into a major role in the fashion industry. The most popular type of organic jewelry today would be in the form of pearls.this organic jewelry are very famous in india allso.

Where do pearls come from? Pearls come from an irritation in an oyster’s shell. The irritation is then covered with calcium carbonate which after many years turns into a pearl. Pearls were first used for jewelry by the Native Americans that first settled the land. Thousands of years later, they are now considered a must-have fashion accessory.

Pearls are used in many forms of jewelry including Necklaces, bracelets, and rings.

Pearl necklaces are very popular, and they come in a variety of forms such as Bib, Choker, Matinee, Opera, Princess, and Rope.

Pearl bracelets also work very well as fabulous fashion accessories. The classic single strand of different pearls can be used to match any outfit.

You can never go wrong with a pearl ring. A gorgeous pearl ring set with gold or sterling silver will made any woman happy.

If pearls are not your thing, there are many other forms of organic jewelry such as bamboo and hardwood. There are many types of bamboo that are yellow, tan, green, brown, and even purple providing a great fashion accessory. The most common use of bamboo for organic jewelry is earrings. Although they are relatively easy to take care for, the wearer has to re oil the earring periodically for easy insertion. If you like designs, bamboos can have great designs burnt in them. The best part is that bamboo earrings only cost around fifteen dollars.

A more expensive alternative to bamboo is actual hardwood. Wood plugs are usually hand crafted and each piece is unique. Plugs work best on dry areas of the body like ears and might cause an allergic reaction. Like bamboo, hardwood jewelry has to be re oiled from time to time. Common oils used are olive oil, peanut oil, and jojoba oil. There are six major types of wood used for jewelry: Chakte Kok, Chechon, Ebony, Granadillo, Katalox and Maple each of these a different color.

ChakteKok is a glowing reddish yellow and is lightweight. Chechen is brown and gives a natural look. Ebony is black and is the heaviest. Grandillo is dark brown. Katalox is very dark brown and is almost black. Katalox is the rarest type and is hard to obtain. Maple is light brown and is almost yellow.

If you’re interested in wood plugs, they come in many different shapes: Saddle shaped, cylinder shaped, flared, nail shaped, taper shaped, and spike shaped. When ordering wood plugs, you must specify in diameter and length. These are just a few examples of modern organic jewelry. There are many other types of organic jewelry including bones, horns, stone, and amber. While each type of organic jewelry is different, they all serve as a great alternative to expensive silver and gold jewelry.

Diamond Jewellery and Women !

2007-09-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

Fine diamond jewelry and women are said to be complimentary to one another. Women are able to enhance their beauty with sparkling fine diamond jewelry, and the different beautiful colors that diamonds have just make the women seems so gorgeous and irresistible.

This is the main reason why many women love to have fine diamond jewelry as gifts. Women have the habit of collecting different pieces of fine jewelry, and they are always eager to add your gifts to their collection. This explains why most jewelry sellers used women as their main advertising models.

So if you want to get something for your special one, fine diamond jewelry is your best bet. With its light and beauty, it will make her stand out and add value to her personality. Nowadays, to get quality fine diamonds are not hard at all. There are couples of jewelry stores for you to choose from, both online and offline. If you decide to buy online, you can even get cheaper prices on fine diamonds jewelry, as online retailers have low overheads.

So how do you go about choosing a good quality diamond for your special one? The color of the diamond plays an important factor when you are choosing a diamond. There are a variety of colors that are available in stores, with green and pink diamonds being harder to locate due to their rare forms.

The cut and design of a diamond is also very important. You may want to choose a diamond that is skillfully crafted, with a clearer clarity. Weight is also a major factor to consider when comes to buying diamonds. The bigger the size of the diamond, the more expensive it will be.

Basically, before you buy a diamond, try to understand its value and worth. Size, design, clarity, cut and color are just some of the elements of a diamond that you need to consider before you decide to buy one. Of course, make sure that the price is right too.