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Dear Friends,
Greetings and welcome to the November edition of the Mastery of Meditation and Yoga newsletter.
In this edition you will find an excellent yoga set to help you stretch, strengthen, heal and tone your back and spine.
For those who missed the previous newsletters you will find them archived here - Mastery of Meditation Newsletter Archives.
Also, there are some great articles in the top 6 recent articles section on the top right, so don't miss those. There you will find articles on How to Stop Negative Thinking, Yogic Breathing for Beginners, SO HUM Mantra Meditation, Anger Management Techniques and more.
This Edition Features :-
- Yoga for Healthy Back Set.
- New Online Meditation Teacher Training Website.
- Great New Book by Dr. Rajiv Parti, M.D.
Much Love,
Anmol
PS: Our Mastery of Meditation and Yoga FB Fanpage has daily updates with inspiring quotes, excerpts, pictures and articles. Do stop by, check it out and Like us. I appreciate your love and support - Anmol.
Mastery of Meditation and Yoga Facebook Fan Page
Yoga Exercises for Healthy Back:
Some titles below are links to the article with all the details including cautions, benefits, practice tips, etc. So click that to read the full article.
One of the best yoga sets for your back is of course the Kundalini Yoga Spinal Warm-up Series. It is what I invariably start every yoga class with and it has proven to be excellent for anyone suffering from back problems or digestive issues.
But there are a great deal of other yoga poses that are great for the health of your back as well and below is a set which combines these exercises to help you stretch, strengthen and heal your back and spine.
Many of the illustrations below show Trupti using a brick, but these poses can be done without a brick as well.
#1: SPINAL TWISTS FOR LOWER BACK
http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2009/08/27/lower-back-exercise-yoga-spinal-twists/
Warm-ups in almost every sport tend to start with doing some spinal twists and this is a very good strategy. The lower back can be subject to a great deal of strain and getting this area limber and ready for action, can go a long way in avoiding back injuries and back problems.
When it comes to spinal twists there are many wonderful variations and for those who are fans of Kundalini Yoga, the technique explained in the following article, is an ideal one - Lower Back Exercise - Yoga Spinal Twists.
For this variation of Spinal Twists, interlace your fingers behind your back, pull your arms away from your body and then twist left and right without too much strain.
Inhale as you twist to the left and exhale as you twist right. Do this exercise for 1 to 5 minutes, taking breaks as required and also increasing the pace and intensity of the twist as you feel yourself getting warmed up.
This technique is known for stimulating Kundalini Shakti at the base of the spine, which is why it is often a core exercise in Kundalini Yoga.
Here are some illustrations to help you do this exercise correctly.
Spinal Twist - Right
Spinal Twist - Left
http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2008/01/16/yoga-cobra-pose-for-healthy-back/
An important aspect of stretching is to work the muscles and region in all different direction and angles. So now having twisted left and right, we will work on stretching the back up and down.
Cobra Pose (Bhujanga Asana), which is detailed in the article, Cobra Pose for Healthy Back, is a great pose for getting the lower back stretched. Another similar pose to cobra for doing backbends, is upward facing dog, and below are some illustrations of Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svana Asana), using a brick by Trupti.
Note you can flip the brick to it's side, to get more accent on the stretch. You can, of course, practice this pose without bricks. The key difference between this pose and cobra is that the thighs are off the floor and the arms are straight in Upward Facing Dog.
Upward Facing Dog
http://anmolmehta.com/blog/2010/09/21/more-free-yoga-postures-yoga-bridge-pose-for-strengthening-back/
Along with stretching the back, an important aspect of having a healthy back is strengthening it. This is especially true for your lower back which is such a source of problems for so many people.
So to strengthen your lower back, one of the best poses is Bridge Pose. Below is an illustration by Trupti using a brick to demonstrate Bridge Pose.
As this pose has lots of great variations, both easy and advanced, visit the article for those variations and more details about this important pose.
Bridge Pose
One great thing about yoga is that for difficult poses, which are hard for beginner yogis, there are many variations, modifications and substitutions that can be used.
One such advanced posture is Wheel Pose, but if you are not able to do that pose, there are 2 great substitutes you can do instead, which will also bestow Wheel Pose's many benefits onto you.
These 2 substitutes are Modified Wheel Pose and Simple Wheel Pose.
The following article will give you details of how to do Modified Wheel Pose, which is great for digestion, reproduction, flexibility and strength - Modified Wheel Pose. And an illustration of that pose is below as well.
Also below is an illustration of Simple Wheel Pose, which Trupti is demonstrating using bricks. Instead of bricks you can also use a rolled up blanket or firm cushion to take this pose.
Modified Wheel Pose
Simple Wheel Pose
#5: LOWER BACK STRETCH
Here is a pose I introduced in the last newsletter which I think is a great way to end your set as it is a nice relaxing and useful stretch for the back and spine.
Lower Back Stretch Left
Lower Back Stretch Right
New Meditation Training Website:
I am very happy to report that the Mastery of Meditation Teacher's Training and Certification Program is now the #1 Online Meditation Training Course on the web.
This program is suitable for anyone interested in Meditation. It teaches meditation and gentle yoga, starting from basic techniques all the way to advanced meditations.
Feel free to visit this site to learn more and if you can share it with your friends via Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc, I would be very grateful.
Here is the link to this new website.
The Soul of Wellness - Dr. Rajiv Parti:
Body, mind, heart, and spirit--these are the four dimensions of wellness that Rajiv Parti, M.D. (Dr. Raj) uses as the foundation of his powerful new outlook on integral health.
In his new book, The Soul of Wellness: 12 Holistic Principles for Achieving a Healthy Body, Mind, Heart, and Spirit, he teaches us how to build on this groundwork to help us achieve radiant health. The wisdom behind these principles is as ancient as human civilization, yet as cutting edge as modern science.
Put modern medicine and ancient wisdom to work for your health. Check out "The Soul of Wellness" today!.
THE SOUL OF WELLNESS
http://www.thesoulofwellness.com/
PS: You can get my Yoga Pranayama for Beginner's Video free when you purchase The Soul of Wellness :-). | 
Mastery of Meditation and Yoga 
