Complete Foot-to-Hand Forward Bend

The Yoga Complete Foot-to-Hand Forward Bend is also known as the Padahastasana. As the name indicates this pose requires you to bend forward. This pose stretches and nourishes your hips and spine. In addition it also improves the flow of blood towards your face and brain, which in turn leads to improvement in your memory, reduction of hair loss, and improvement in your eyesight.

Stand erect on a mat. Ensure that your spine is straight and is not curved to your left or right. Inhale, and lift your arms above your head. Stretch your arms upwards to feel the stretch from your palms up to your shoulders and spine. As you exhale, bend down forward, and in a graceful movement, lower your head till it comes down to the level of your shins.

Touch your fingertips to the mat and if you can bend slightly more you may place your palms flat on the mat in front of your feet. Initially you may not be able to bend as much. So bend as far as you comfortably can. Those with tight hips will also find it difficult to bend forward.

To make this step easier, you may place a yoga block or a low stool in front of you, and place your palms on them instead of on the floor. After doing this exercise for a few days, you will increase the flexibility in your hips and will be able to bend lower.

After you are able to bend down to touch the floor you can try to increase the stretch by inserting your palms under your foot soles. Pause at this stage for three to five breaths, or as long as you are comfortable.

Do not remain in this position for too long, as it may cause you to feel giddy. Inhale and lift you back up again in a slow graceful movement to stand up.

Sources:

Yoga Asanas - padahastasana: the hand to foot pose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPIvLaCNnAg

Padahastasana

http://www.discover-yoga-online.com/padahastasana.html

Padahastasana - The Hand-to-Feet Pose

http://www.a2zyoga.com/yoga-poses/padahastasana.php

Padahastasana – Hands to Feet Yoga Pose

http://www.motleyhealth.com/yoga/padahastasana-hands-to-feet-yoga-pose

Yoga Sequence for Weight Loss

The Yoga for Weight Loss are a sequence of steps that help you to shed excess weight and trim your abdomen. These exercises are simple enough for a person of any age to do. So obese persons who cannot stretch and strain themselves too much can start doing these exercises.

Stand erect on a mat and lift your arms above your head. Join your palms and stretch your arms upwards. You should feel the stretch from your palms up to your shoulders. Inhale, and as you exhale bend down from your hips and lower your arms to bring them down, up to the floor. You may cross your arms as you bend down.

Introduce a variation here by bending your knees as well, when you bend down forward. When you bend, you should engage the muscles of your abdomen. Repeat this movement between seven to ten times, before moving on to the next step.

Move your feet away from each other to place them at a distance of a shoulder and a half from each other. Point your toes away from each other. Ground your feet into the floor and lower your hips vertically down towards the floor. Join your palms at the level of your heart as you do this. This step is a standing squat and helps to stretch and nourish your inner thighs.

When you do this step, you need to be careful, not to extend your knees beyond your toes. Repeat this step for between five to seven times and gradually increase the number of times you do this over a few days.

Next you twist your hips to your right and bend down sideways to place both your palms near your right leg, to come into a runner lunge position. When you do this, you need to bend your right leg from the knee, and stretch your left leg behind you. Rest your chest over your thigh. This helps your spine to elongate. Lower your left knee to the floor and place your palms on your right thigh.

From this position you can turn your shoulders to your right, and place your left elbow on your right thigh. Join your palms at the level of your heart as you do this. Rest your elbow beyond your right thigh to increase the stretch to your hips. Repeat this step by interchanging the position of the legs.

Sources:

Yoga For Weight Loss - Beginners

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNHSsY5LEdU&feature=related

Lose Weight With Yoga

http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/12/14/weight-loss/

Best Yoga for Weight Loss - Complete with Illustrated Yoga Poses and Exercises

http://www.anmolmehta.com/blog/2010/01/25/best-yoga-exercises-poses-weight-loss/

Yoga Poses for Weight Loss: How-to, Tips

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-1014/Yoga-Poses-for-Weight-Loss-Howto-Tips-Benefits-Images-Videos.html

See-saw pose of Partner Yoga

The See-saw pose of partner yoga is a fun pose to do and can be a favorite with kids if you teach them to do it. For kids it feel more like a game rather than an exercise. This pose helps to nourish your shoulders, arms hips and spine.

You start doing this pose from a sitting position. Sit facing your partner, at an arm’s-length distance from each other. bend your legs from the knees so that your legs look like an inverted ‘V’. Hold your partner’s arms at the wrists. Grabbing the wrists, rather than the hands gives you a more secure grip.

Both partners inhale, and lengthen their spine. Now pull yourself backwards, and as you do so, your partner gets up and bends forward from her/his hips. You may lower your back to rest it on the floor. You may rest your head as well on the floor, as you tug at your partner’s wrists.

Pause at this position for some time, and as you exhale, you may lift yourself up, as your partner pulls you forward. When doing this, your partner places her/his buttocks on the mat and then in turn lowers herself/himself to rest her/his back on the mat.

It is now your turn to lift your buttocks off the mat and get up to support your partner as she/he tugs at your arms. When you bend forward this way, you lower your head in between your arms as in the Downward Facing Dog pose. This increases the flow of blood to your brain and face, improving your eyesight and memory, and reducing hair loss.

Repeat this see-saw movement for as many times as you find it comfortable and then exit this sequence.

Sources:

Partner Yoga Guide : The See-Saw in Partner Yoga

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkUrT41lYlw

The See-Saw in Partner Yoga

http://www.livestrong.com/video/1281-see-saw-partner-yoga/