Scream your way to release STRESS

(Extracted from YogaJournal)

Ever feel so stressed that you wanted to scream? A good shout can literally help you blow off steam, releasing pent-up frustrations and leaving you spent, relaxed, and calm. We are often taught, in our society, to hold all our emotions in and to betray no trace of frustration or exhaustion. But it can be much healthier just to let it out!

In yoga we sometimes mimic the roar of a lion in particular, but any roar or shout will help you reduce stress throughout the day. Some good places to try this include the shower, in traffic, or in the privacy of your bedroom. If others are around, it's helpful to alert them first—because it can sound alarming! And if you're driving, of course, make sure to watch the road as you sound your lungs.

Losing Your Cool?

Well when you are about to BLOW up, why not take a meditation break right now, wherever you're sitting? You don't need to do anything special to set the stage for your 5-minute vacation—just sit comfortably and move your focus inward. This contemplation meditation is an opportunity to focus your "thinking mind" on the mystery of being.

Here's how to try it: Sit back in your chair so that your back is completely supported. Face your hands on your knees with your palms facing, up to open your awareness, or facing down, to calm the mind. As you inhale, silently say "so" to yourself and as you exhale, say "hum." These words mean "I am that"— in other words, they are an affirmation of your existence.

Once you've established the "so hum" rhythm, begin to contemplate the source of your breath: Where is your breath coming from? Through visualization, contemplate the 5 billion human beings and countless creatures on Earth being fed by the same tidal rhythm of the breath.

Extracted from the Yoga Journal

Natural Alternatives For Household Cleaning

Here are some eco-friendly and economical alternative to conventional and potentially harmful cleaning products.


All-purpose cleaner
• Mix vinegar and salt for a good surface cleaner.
• Pour some baking soda and vinegar on a damp sponge. It will clean and deodorize all kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

Deodorizer
• Place partially filled saucers of vinegar around the room.
• Boil 1 tablespoon of vinegar in 1 cup of water to eliminate unpleasant cooking odours.
• Baking soda is excellent for absorbing odours.

Removing crayon marks
• Crayon marks on the floor or table can be removed by rubbing them with some toothpaste on a damp cloth. Don't use this on wallpaper or porous surfaces.

Removing grease spots
• Immediately pour salt on grease spots to absorb and prevent staining.

Removing scratches
• Mix equal parts of lemon juice and vegetable oil, and rub against scratches with a soft cloth until they disappear.

Laundry starch
• Dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 2 cups of cold water. Place in a spray bottle. Shake well before using. Make sure to label this so you don't use it for cleaning.

Oven cleaner
• While the oven is still warm, pour some salt on grimy areas. If the areas are dry, dampen with water before applying the salt. When the oven cools down, scrape the grime off and wash clean.
• Spray grimy areas with water or vinegar-water and apply a layer of baking soda. Rub gently with fine steel wool and wipe off. Rinse with water and wipe dry.

Toilet bowl cleaner
• Sprinkle baking soda into the bowl, then drizzle with vinegar and scour with a toilet brush. This combination both cleans and deodorizes. (Note: DO NOT mix the combination with store-bought toilet cleaners. The combination will create toxic fumes.)

Glass cleaner
• Mix equal amounts of water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Wipe the glass with newspaper for a streak-free shine.

Reach for a Happier, Healthier Back

Gravity. A poorly fitting chair. The emotions you feel during the day. Bad posture. Stress.

These are all things that can create compression in your lower back. And, as we all know, with compression comes pain. But you can reduce compression and relieve pain at any point during the day with this simple exercise.


Sit comfortably on your chair with your knees open to hip distance and your feet flat on the floor. Take a deep breath in and stretch your arms up overhead. Interlace your fingers and turn your palms towards the ceiling, pressing your sitting bones down while reaching up. Keeping your arms straight alongside your ears and turn to the right, feeling the stretch on the left ribs and hip. Take five deep breaths, then switch sides.


Extracted from Yoga Journal

Reason for Yoga exercise.

"Many yoga practices counter the fight-or-flight response and invite the body to move in the opposite direction toward peace and calm. Gentle stretching lengthens your muscles, reducing physical tension. Yoga breathing slows your respiration. Inverted postures can help lower your blood pressure by decreasing your heart rate, relaxing your arteries and reducing levels of the stress hormone noradrenaline. Resting yoga postures allow you to let go of physical and mental effort. Meditative practice help you put fear and anger into perspective. With increased calm and relaxation comes a decrease in your level of cortisol, an adrenal hormone that inhibits immune system function. This keeps your body at optimal alert against disease."

Standing Poses

Other poses that i learnt on friday are as follows:

Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

STEP 1: Start with the Mountain Pose.


STEP 2: As you exhale, place your left foot on the inside part of your right leg, close to the groin area, with the toes pointing downward.


STEP 3: As you inhale, stretch your arms sideways to form a T, palms facing down.


STEP 4: As you exhale, bring your palms together in prayer position.


STEP 5: Raise your arms overhead, keeping your palms in prayer position. To maintain balance, it helps to focus your eyes on one point in front of you and keep on breathing through the belly.



BENFITS
The Tree Pose helps strengthen your thighs, calves, ankles and back. It can also increase the flexibility of your hips and groin. Your balance and concentration can also be improved with constant practice.

HATHA YOGA

Finally I have make it to my 1st yoga class. Interesting to know about YOGA can do mircale in one life. Hopefully it does makes a difference in mine too. I have an indian teacher, seems like more yoga teachers are indian maybe due to the yoga orgins. Anyway, I attended my class at the community centre. The course sppose to be for one and half hours, but then my teacher spent half an hour talking about the YOGA benefits and breathing. I nearly doze off then. Nevermind about that, this are what i learn last friday.

Sun Salutation
STEP ONE:

Stand facing the direction of the sun with both feet touching. Bring the hands together, palm-to-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.

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.


The complete pose should work out to be like the following: