YOGA FOR HEALTH

Dr R NAGARATHNA and Dr H R NAGENDRA teach you 
techniques to beat stress and relieve back pain

How does the prana imbalance select the target organ?
Amongst all the emotions, it is the negative emotions such as anxiety, suppressed anger and frustration that drain out the maximum amount of pranic energy. This speed at the manomaya kosa leads to increased nervous activity in the emotional (limbic) cortical pathways. Repeated activation of the same pathways leaves him habituated to that track to such an extent that a small stimulus is enough to trigger off this loop of excessive activity in the nervous pathways almost like an involuntary reflex response. This speed now starts showing up at the physical level as excessive activity in many nervous pathways such as the sympathetic, parasympathetic, or voluntary nervous system.

Also the fast pace of life promotes early aging changes. These are probably the physical manifestations of the prana imbalances. It may take a few years before the ongoing imbalances start showing up in the annamaya kosa. Speeded up relentless activation of the skeletal muscles is the speed manifesting in the annamaya kosa as persistent muscle spasm. This in turn sets off large number of pain sensory nerve fibres to carry messages of persistent pain to the brain. Similarly the early aging change due to rapid pace of life manifesting as lumbar and cervical spondylosis is yet another manifestation of that speed.

SIDE LUMBER STRETCH
Sthiti: Supine Posture

PRACTICE
* Lie down on the left side of the body.
* Hold the back of the neck with the left hand.
* Bend the right leg at the knee and hold the right ankle with the right hand behind the buttocks.
* While inhaling move the right thigh backwards as far as possible by pulling the right foot with the right hand and at the same time, bend the head backwards arching the spine, keep the hand straight.
* Then while exhaling bring the right thigh forward on the chest with the knee bent and right hand holding the right ankle.
* Bend the head forward in the Pavanamuktasana style trying to touch the forehead to knee. This is one round. Repeat five rounds.
* Repeat the same practice with the left leg while lying on the right side of the body five times.
(The writers are with Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation and can be contacted on 6612669 or vkyogas@vsnl.com. Simple yoga books at affordable prices are available at the Institute.)