Fit Yoga, Sex and Coping

There are many books and other sources on yogas, coping, health and sex - hundreds, thousands and more. There is also some research on these topics, with hundreds of findings it may pay to know of and be allied with more or less - without forgetting that research findings tend to be of limited scope, and therefore perhaps not always very valuable in the complex web of urban living. This stated, research findings can help a lot anyway, as far as they go - that is, as far as their design, reliability, validity and fruitfulness go.

What follows is a little survey based on some research findings, after this warmer-up:

Many uncertainties surround the practice of meditation. Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in health care cannot be drawn . . . Future research on meditation practices must be more rigorous . . . [University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center, 2007]

Research on Transcendental Meditation has made it mainstream. TM improves health, works against stress-related conditions, improves brain function, and cardiovascular health and aids longevity. [◦ Living longer through TM]

Over seven millions have learnt Transcendental Meditation (TM) word-wide so far (2018). The TM way is designed to work well by and large. It was very, very safe for Swedes in the early 1970s, shows official research in Sweden, headed by Dr. Jaan Suurküla:

As early as in the 1970s, the Swedish government's National Health Board conducted a nationwide epidemiological study that found that hospital admissions for psychiatric care were 150-200 times less common among the 35,000 people practicing Transcendental Meditation in Sweden, than for the population as a whole. The calculation was made by Professor Jan-Otto Ottoson, Scientific counsellor of the National Health Board in Sweden (Suurküla, University of Gothenburg, Vasa Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, 1977.)
- Paper 127: Jaan Suurküla. The Transcendental Meditation Technique and the Prevention of Psychiatric Illness. Vasa Hospital, University of Gothenburg, Sweden - Paper prepared in May 1977.

Dr Suurkuula ends the paper thus:

The remarkably small incidence of psychiatric illness among the population of individuals who had learnt the Transcendental Meditation technique compared to the general population indicates that the TM technique is not only safe but also has considerable value in the prevention of psychiatric illness."

Dr Suurküla also concludes in 2010:

TM has not only a preventive effect against psychiatric illness but effectively promotes mental stability and improved mental health, even in severely disturbed cases. . . .
Considering that there are important differences between the TM technique and [other] meditation techniques, there is no scientific basis for concluding that these results are valid for meditation techniques in general. [◦Suurküla findings] - [◦Dr Suurküla on self-actualised leaders, authoritarians, corporate psychopaths, stressful superiors etc.]

Let us be careful, guarded, as well as we can

Cordell Hull (1871–1955) was an extremely cautious speaker, striving always for scientific accuracy. One day on a train through Montana, a friend pointed to a flock of sheep grazing in a field.
"Look, those sheep have just been sheared," he said.
Hull studied the flock. "Sheared on this side, anyway," he admitted. (In Fuller 1970)

In the anecdote, Hull was careful not to draw his longbow of conclusions so far that it broke. He said what he saw and did not suppose. Similarly, what was valid, reliable and very interesting research findings on TM among Swedes in the 1970s, is it as valid, reliable and interesting in other societies today?

There may be no clear-cut answer across cultures so far. But here is a page that informs that "the Transcendental Meditation program has beneficial effects for populations at different levels of mental health status, and under different conditions of learning the technique," as Dr David Orme-Johnson states (emphasis added). [◦David Orme-Johnson. Research on Mental Health]

There Are Health Benefits of Good Yoga

Yoga is not only yoga postures and special breathing ways. It is a quite unified system. Its higher parts include deep meditation. Some sides to yoga includes having sex "the yoga way", in tantric ways, that is.

Health

Health is a looming topic too, with many lessons in it. Some are hard lessons:

Ayurveda and Yoga walk hand in hand. In contemporary Ayurveda ("life-knowledge"), as Maharishi Ayurveda, total health is understood as a well functioning and carefully regulated balance in bliss. Implied: "Soundness and gladness walk hand in hand". To the degree it is so: To get sound, be happy - or the other way round. Maharishi Ayurveda (MAY) has come about on top of ancient patterns. [Sharma and Clark 2012:33]
For fifty years the TM movement has had a simple system of yoga postures for health. Today they are taught online. [Yogi 1965].
Handling the harmful sides or getting rid of them wholly. Health also requires control and handling that suffices to keep it intact, despite stressors and other detrimental influences. Not being poisoned, and getting rid of harmful substances may be counted in too.
Getting benefits of harmonious surroundings. Health requires a lot, and is favoured by a non-festering and congenital environment - biologically sound and socially sound. Maharishi added designs for better environments to TM, recognising a deep need. He took hold of the ancient Vedic concept of vastu. There has been a revival of it in the last decades. Knapp writes: "Vastu is the Vedic science of architectural and home arrangement. It made its way through the orient and became known as Feng Shui, which has made particular progress in popularity in the West." (2006:67) It also means "precepts out of a traditional view on how laws of nature affect human dwellings." [The Institute of Vedic City Planning, 2013; WP, sv. "Vastu"]
Having basics for survival and avoiding folly. Health likewise depends on having food and water, on shielding from baking sunlight and arctic cold. To have dire needs that go unfulfilled can affect health in several ways. Hopefully, the derangements will not be permanent. Abraham Maslow has postulated that there are needs that may be ranked somehow from the gross carnal level through subtler levels toward Self-actualisation. He shows it by a pyramid of five levels. It is well worth a study, and the food pyramid for other ends too, since foods are not all alike, and the need is for quality food above junk, that is, usually and in the long run, hopefully. Sound food, organic food, ecological food, food without toxins and pesticides, and rich in nutritients - [Wp, sv. "Food guide pyramid"]
The capacity to stand alone after being born alone . . . What about good friends? Those who need them, may not stand being alone, and such losses or deprivals may affect one's health too.
Dealing carefully and a long way with defects and dysfunctions. There is also an issue of defects - having some, getting rid of some, or dealing with them otherwise as well. Troubles and diseases and dysfunctions can be inherited also. You may seek deal with them simply, perhaps also with an eye to possible underlying causes that also could need to be redressed.
Avoid harm well, or seek to heal it soon. One needs to avoid harm. It included not to risk a lot and not putting oneself in harm's way. Being brash may not work as well as being polite. And to enter the Army is not perfect for health, many veterans show: they suffer from post-traumatic stress. TM offers help - A study of Vietnam War veterans suffering from PTSD [Post-traumatic stress disease] demonstrated that after three months of doing the Transcendental Meditation technique, symptoms such as alcohol usage, high startle response, emotional numbness and anxiety decreased - [Cf. David Lynch Foundation: Research Summary]
Sticking to sound moral. There is much one may do without, but not a sound, well-working moral fit for dharma. Breaks of moral codes tend to make corrupted (rotten in some way or other on some level), and then diseased. To get better, stop the sinning - for sinning comes round in the form of ill-health somehow - and ill-health is not just physical. The value of keeping up a fair and fit moral is vital for health and made explicit by many, many teachers. Moral depravity may result in being handled by shrinks and medical doctors; they may be well fed by it - Good for them!
The concept of dharma stands for Law that "upholds, supports or maintains the regulatory order of the universe". The Sanskrit root of the word, dhri, means "that without which nothing can stand" or "that which upholds the stability and harmony of the universe." Further, dharma regulates both outer phenomena and sound moral - What basically matters is to live nobly and well - and sound skilfulness may help too.
In the ancient Rig-Veda, the word dharma appears with a range of meanings, including "sustainer, supporter" (of deities), and much like the Greek ethos ("fixed decree, statute, law"). The word dharma is related to words for fasten, to support, to hold, be suited, fit, harmony.
The ancient, tall order called rita is mixed with the idea of dharma too, as in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - where dharma is explained as the universal principle of law, order, harmony spring from Brahman, Spirit. Stephen Knapp (2006) explains the ancient Vedic concept of dharma at length.
Withstanding the dark sides to today's world of medicine. Today's medicine is a body of knowledge and ways of dealing with diseases, or at least find out likely causes of your troubles. Some standard recommendations are simple: Let your child rest for some days if it has just a moderate fever. If conditions worsen, or the illness lingers, other or further steps are taken, for example giving it antibiotics. It may (still) help, although there are sombre, ominous clouds on that horizon: Much use has let resistent bacteria strains benefit, and some such antibiotics-resistent strains are found in hospitals. It is somewhat ironical at first glance, but may become tragic to the infested ones.
For many troubles books of the "Family Doctor" type give very useful self-help "charts with paths" that leads you to grasp what possible disease is involved, and what to do or not to do about it. [e.g. Smith and Davidson 2001; Peters 2010]

Complementary Medicine is Supposed to Be Good for You

As for complementary medicine, there are self-help niches for it. To get a sound medical diagnosis first is a given, and so is not to interfere with the prescribed cures of doctors in significant matters. Now, often doctors deal with chronic troubles, and fairly often what they do to deal with them is to prescribe medicine treatments with their side effects. First you get something for a certain trouble; then the side effects require other medicines, and there you go. Hopefully it ends well or fairly well, but that is not always the case. And sometimes their attempts fail. In such cases they may call the diseases "incurable", which means they do not know how to deal with them. Or maybe they send you to pharmacies that sell prescribed or non-prescribed medicine to alleviate or handle your symptoms a long, long time.

The scene may at last be set for complementary attempts, for example kahuna healers or persons with "warm hands". There are both dubious and suspicious guys - it may be wise to know the difference between attested healers and hype-fond ones without any sound documentation as to effects of their work. (Serge King):

First try to get a good diagnosis - it is one that clarifies. Alternative diagnoses, such as pulse diagnoses; laser acupuncture, pressure acupuncture, needle acupuncture, electric acupuncture, herbs, herbal supplements, herbal teas, homeopathy, anthroposophical medicine, Vogel advice; one or more special diets; Ayurveda treatment, Marma treatment, yoga treatment, yoga-and-herbs treatment - you name it.
Getting self-help help. You are free to seek and learn aspects of self-healing, such as pressure point therapy on the basis reflexology, shiatsu theory, marma theory, and further. Or you see a complementary healer you feel for, and if his treatments do not give you the desired results, you seek for another, or another -
There is also great herbal knowledge of many kinds, herbs, herbology, Bach remedies. And there is the Ayurvedic system, a much similar Chinese Acupuncture system, and Western herbal medicine (David Hoffman 20xx)) - and herbs are described by what substances they contain, or how they are tentatively fit into the systems of Ayurveda or Chinese herbal medicine, which is yin-yang-correlated.
Start young to learn what you need in the future. If you are ill, you may regrettably not have the energy or time left to cover this vast and varied field and explore tracks in it - a field full of often bizarre diet freaks, for example. This may seem like poor advice that pertains to hospitalisation: You need good health to stand it - scary bacteria, depletions, untoward food - you name it. To avoid the problem of giving up finding answers only when it is a bit late in life, you had better start early, start young, and sift the valuable data from the rest. A tradition sees to that.
Rest and get ample sleep. Try to get ample and good rest too, to aid healing, a little bit or much, as the case may be - or maybe you get completely restored.

Three niches

There are some golden norms for self-help and family care:

Get a life. Building, catering to and caring for a happy, decent life comes first.
Bulwark the good life well. Bulwark the good life by for example garden wall, and other implementations that aid healhy living and healthy upbringing.
Preventions first, attempts at cure afterwards. Early prevention is better than quick recovery, and sound prevention is better than attempts at hopeless cures.

This is to say: Favour positive experiences first, shield the family and yourself too, and if cures are needed, quick help may be found to be better than attempts at cures that come too late.

If you are too late, have not got a pulse diagnosis or other diagnoses to get rid of diseases you don't have - yet - too bad! The idea is: some diseases may be diagnosed through the six pulses in each wrist. Such diagnoses are maintained to be fit in the systems of Ayurveda, acupuncture and marma. By regulating and harmonising the pulses in traditional ways or by traditional means, health can be preserved, or restored, as the case may be.

Hippocrates and going gently first

There are good attitudes to learn from Hippocrates (c. 460 BC - 377 BC): As to diseases, make a habit of this: to help, or at least, to do no harm. Follow that system of regimen which, according to our ability and judgment, we consider should benefit, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy. For extreme diseases, extreme methods of cure. [WP, sv. "Hippocrates"]

Accordingly, go gently and carefully - Get informed first, get what may help a lot first, and off you go toward extreme cures if nobody stops you. You have to be careful and not bluff. Related to over-all conditions, there are these niches:

For mild disturbances. Complementary medicine may be resorted to for mild nuisances, such as a mild diarrhea. It is part of home treatment, which is encouraged by the medical community by and large. (eg. Peters 2010). One has to know the proper bounds and limits for it, and know how to stop too. That may not always be clear-cut.
Along with medical treatments. Second, complementary medicine gets along with some sorts of doctor-prescribed medicines, but be careful, for some medicines are influenced by herbs and herbal compounds, and the other way round. There may or may not be interactons between some of them.
When medical cures have failed utterly. However, if your illness is called uncurable, you may be free to try alternative medicine too. It is possible, and it may not always help. It depends. For example, acupuncture treatments are frequently tried in this zone. The main point is to be careful and updated so as not to fare badly or poorly.

Holistic perspectives

All of this can work very well within schemes of holistic health, aiming at sound wholeness. Healthy is allied to being "whole" or complete and in balance on may levels. One has to withstand outer pressures and harmful experiences too, up to a point, wherever that is. It is in part individual.

Understanding of health in a wider perspective is ancient, and some parts have been known in China: Its classical acupuncture considers two principles of Yin and Yang, basic polarities, and how they give rise to a lot in nature, including functionings in the human body. That is what acupuncture theory maps up. If confronted with a disease in body or mind or both, the acupuncturist seeks to redress the balances that he detects are at fault. The ancient Chinese medical text Nei Ching, also known as Huangdi Neijing, or The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine etc., holds that perfect harmony between Yin and and Yang within the body, means health, even to a degree that counteracts aging. The ca. 2000 years old text may be the most important ancient text in Chinese medicine, and is also a major book of Taoist theory and lifestyle. [Yci 15-17; WP, sv. "Huangdi Neijing"].

Speaking of health that counteracts aging, there is research into Transcendental Meditation, TM, which shows that TM slows down the biological aging process by years. [◦A research report]

Also, "Hatha Yoga is conductive to health and longevity," Swami Sivananda says. "Its practice regulates . . . " and maintains health. [Sivananda 2004: viii]

We should not underestimate the value of yoga postures for health. Even simple postures are found to be good for body and mind. Sound bodies make it easier to develop minds and souls. [Sinha, 1980]

~ೞ⬯ೞ~

Yoga for a Sound Body in a Sound Mind

Inside the body is the mind, and according to yoga thinking, the etheric field (kosha) reaches outside the body limits by some inches, give or take. The mind koshas are told to reach further out from the body still. So the body is the solid part of oneself, and within subtler fields that make up man or woman. This is ancient stuff:

For example, The Paingala Upanishad tells the soul has a five-levelled covering. Koshas is the term for the five coverings of the soul.

The physical body, the annamaya kosha, have subtler "envelopes" to attune to, or its fare is that of a corpse:
The pranamaya sheath (vitality);
the manomaya sheath (mind);
the vijnanamaya sheath. These three constitute the subtle body, or such a composite field of vitality, mind and reckoning).
Subtler still is the anandamaya sheat. From this sheath the soul alights.

The end goal of human life is to gain yogic freedom, moksha. It may take its time, up to days and months, for example, if not life-times. [WP, sv. "Panchakosha"]

Yoga postures

Like meditation, yoga postures can serve more than one end. Some learn such asanas to get supple, others as a means to withstand stress, others to harmonise body and mind for meditation, a higher or inward-turned pursuit. And some do them with all these ends in view.

Imbalances of the mind and body are wont to interact. There is much talk of psychosomatic diseases, and less talk of somatopsychic diseases, but they exist too: Somatopsychic is used to describe a body-mind relationship, as does psychosomatic medicine.

The somatopsychic angle helps to understand somewhat how yoga postures may benefit health and wellbeing. are capable of affecting one's moods and sense of wellbeing. There are studies that document that asanas may offer good help against some diseases. Dr Sinha has written a book about that use of yoga postures.

The beginner in yoga may prefer a simple, very safe program of postures. One is usually to rest a little between each posture, and perform them in a sequence that promotes internal balances if that can be had, and rest for a while after the program. And combine well.

The program in a nutshell

Results depend on which postures are assembled. Some suite beginners and others alike, and some are particularly fit for persons with particular diseases, shays Dr Sinha.
How they are used: How long the poses are held, and how many times they are repeated, and how feebly or how measuredly or slowly or delicately you do them - how properly they are done.
How long each program lasts, and how long you have been doing your program.
If you violate age-old yoga codes, maybe your results may not be forthcoming or not very substantial. In such as Patanjali Yoga and Yajnavalkya Yoga, there are moral norms that go with the asanas too. Also, if your way of life acts counter to the good effects of yoga, do you think your yoga the culprit?

Keep your yoga injury-free

The health journalist and author Selene Yeager shows that the yoga beginner does well not to go past his or her limits. That's a rule yoga lovers should heed. So, stop stretching as soon as you feel discomfort. Your knees and back are vulnerable spots; bend your knees with care. Simultaneously bending and twisting your knees, as in the lotus pose, can damage cartilage. And don't overwork your back, is her firm counsel.

Source: Prevention, 10 april 2005. Rodale, Inc. [◦Link]

Beginner Yoga Poses

In yoga there are beginner poses and more strenous poses. Further, along with yoga are yogalike takes, like Pilates, stretching, and many other yoga-like approaches. "Yoga is meant to be a nurturing form of exercise, not a rigid imitation of poses," says author Richard Faulds. So it's very possible to stretch and strengthen your body without having to touch your nose to your knees or your feet to your head.

Find an experienced yoga instructor who helps you adjust to your physical limitations and who will modify pace or offer alternative yoga poses to meet your needs.
Look for styles with gentle yoga poses, not too strenous ones.
Ensure that you leave yoga class serene, not sorry!
Besides, there are some good reasons that nonstrenuous yoga when you get home can lead into one more savoury or erotic evening. [◦Link]

Yoga and Sex

"I need a sex life before I can improve it." - Anonymous.

Even if you should need a sex life, you may benefit from gentle yoga postures, asanas. Bending, stretching slowly and carefully, perhaps while applying moderate pressure, may be a good health-helping tool. Also, when you feel overstressed, try measured, rhythmic breathing. It may be especially good for insomnia.

Through yoga you can get supple, tone up muscles and feel well. The gynecologist Machelle M. ◦Seibel, M.D., says, There are some simple yoga poses," Dr. Seibel says, "that can help just about everyone." He is referring to PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome) by that.

Some effects of good yoga spill over into the sex life too. Thus, Elizabeth Walling encourages us in Five Reasons You Can Thank Yoga for Better Sex to go for "the latest gadget that will ramp up your sex life: a yoga mat. The exercise we often connect to meditation and inner enlightenment is also linked to improved bedtime fun."

She bases her verdict on a study published in the 3 December 2008 edition of The Journal of Sexual Medicine. The study showed women who were not satisfied with their sex life experienced heightened arousal and better orgasms when they practiced yoga. "Another study published in the same journal in September 2007 showed yoga was the most effective solution for men dealing with premature ejaculation in comparison to Prozac and non-prescription drugs," she summarises.

Details: In the latter study, 68 Indian men who suffered from premature ejaculation were given a choice of yoga-based, non-pharmacological treatment or Prozac. The men who practiced yoga for one hour each day "had both subjective and statistically significant improvements in their intra-ejaculatory latencies, similar to participants in the pharmacologic treatment group," concludes ◦Sally Law in her article "Yogis have better sex, study finds" at LiveScience.com.

Sex is a natural function, also according to Yoga philosophy. Having delicious sex in an affectionate relationship is good for folks. Various steady postures and breathing techniques can help to relieve stress and relax the body and mind deeply. Some benefits reach into one's sexual life and relationship. Here are some benefits Elizabeth Walling suggests that your sex life can take away from yoga:

1. Heightened Awareness and Concentration

Good yoga helps in improving better understanding of self and surrounding. And yoga teaches people to be more aware of their breathing and their bodies while letting go of mental distractions. This translates directly to better sex . . . you can undeniably enjoy sexual activities much more.

2. Greater Flexibility and Strength

Nothing can bring more fun to the bed than a body that's ready to rock. Yoga conditions and strengthens the muscles, and also improves your flexibility range and joint health - and stamina during sex, too.

Sound, delicate yoga may develop your flexibility, coordination, balance and physical strength.

3. A New Kind of Foreplay

If your partner is up to it, add in several minutes of couples yoga before sex as a kind of foreplay. A few yoga moves can relax your nerves and get your circulation going: just what you need to get you in the mood. Plus, practicing yoga together helps you connect in a new way.

4. Acceptance and Confidence

Adequate yoga makes you more graceful and confident in your movements, also while making love - more confident about yourself and your inborn human nature. It tends to promote confidence in your self, for example by being aware of your body and accepting it. It may by degrees gives you the freedom to offer more in the bedroom. Sexual confidence is incredibly freeing.

5. A Majestic Finale

Good yoga helps you to feel really, really all-round good. It all adds up to one thing: better orgasms. And yoga positions that strengthen your pelvic core can give your orgasms a definite "wow" factor.

Yoga for Health and Coping

The health benefits of yoga include keeping healthy people healthy, it hinders the development of diseases, and it aids recovery from ill health. Sound prevention is probably better than attempts at cure. Better than mere prevention is building reserves of health and thriving actively. Yoga can be used for all of it.

If you are short of time, a bundle of simple and yogalike exercises may still ease your day. Here are tips:

You may do some belly-breathing in the shower, for example three or four times, and even sit down in the shower for it.
At your desk you may take time to stretch and gently flex your back, lift and lower and rotate your shoulders slowly from time to time, even as frequent as every hour. Add to it: fold your hands behind your back and seek to draw them slowly outwards - one to each side - while they clasped. This is related to isotonic training, but you are not to be unmoving in this:
While you hold your hands locked and aply this tension, push your chest a bit forward, stretch your neck moderately and turn your head slowly from side to side a few times. No jerky movements, just some steady, careful pressure.
There is much else you may do on a chair too, by applying some steady pressure and moving slowly and measuredly in some gentle way. Your hands and arms can be used for pressing down, pressing toward the chest, pressing outward, or "lifting" the chair or thighs - all while you move your torso gently to and fro, forward or backward, and so on. Slow, gymnastic motions may be done much like T'ai Chi Chih movements too.
You may also twist your spine gently to and fro with your hands clasped behind your back. And learn to breathe deeply and gently "all the time" or as often as you remember. It is nice self-help training.
When the phone rings or the computer boots up or a slow Web site loads, take a deep yoga breath before or along with picking up the phone and the other things.

Anti-Aging Yoga

You may feel younger with a simple yoga regimen.

Marianne McGinnis tells about a woman who, in the hope of finding anti-aging relief, took a yoga class. Already an hour later, she felt more relaxed. She's been doing yoga three times a week since and says, "I have more energy, strength, and flexibility than most women half my age."

Many women try yoga for stress reduction, but they stick with it because it makes them feel--and look--younger, says Larry Payne, PhD. Good yoga blends anti-aging moves that improve circulation, balance, flexibility, and strength with meditative techniques such as deep breathing. "My students call yoga a natural face-lift," he says.

Yoga can reduce stress by nearly a third, reports a German study of 24 women. As a result, clenched jaws and furrowed brows relax, helping to smooth away wrinkles. Yoga may also rejuvenate skin's glow by reducing oxidative stress, which breaks down skin's elasticity. In an Indian study of 104 people, oxidative stress levels dropped by 9% after just 10 days of yoga.

During a 10-year University of Washington study of 15,500 men and women over age 45, those who didn't do yoga gained up to 13.5 pounds. Those who practiced regularly lost up to 5 pounds.

Yoga is twice as effective as stretching at relieving back pain, according to another University of Washington study that had 101 people with lower-back pain do either yoga or stretching once a week for 3 months.

Levels of the brain's natural nighttime sedative, melatonin, decrease with age, but another Indian study found that when 15 men, ages 25 to 35, practiced yoga daily for 3 months, their melatonin levels increased.

Researchers at Jefferson Medical College discovered that just one yoga class helps keep the stress hormone cortisol in line. Elevated amounts may contribute to age-related memory problems.

[◦Source]

Yoga therapy

There's a burgeoning movement called Yoga Therapy, in which teachers "prescribe" different poses, modifications of the standard poses, and customized sequences for clients with specific ailments and injuries. And if it's your psyche rather than your body that needs repair--think anxiety or insomnia--a dose of yoga therapy can help put that right too.

Recent studies have shown that yoga can increase lung capacity and reduce asthma attacks, help manage diabetes, and relieve lower back pain.

Deep, rhythmic breathing is especially good for insomnia.

Going for health benefits

Sound yoga fosters health benefits. You don't have to get overstressed and ill to benefit from yoga and meditation.

So how do you start practicing yoga for better sex or whatever reason? If you're a beginner, find a yoga studio that suits you. It is best to focus on your own practice, building your own comfort level, before inviting your partner along.

You could also buy a DVD on yoga to guide you through yoga moves, counsels Dr. Yvonne Kristin Fulbright in "9 Reasons Yoga Will Rock Your Sex Life". She is a sex educator, relationship expert, and columnist. [◦Link]

There are self-help books on good yoga around too. The Yoga Bible by Christina Brown is a good one. It is illustrated too.

In the last decades much research has been done into the effects of yoga postures and meditation on various diseases and troubles. A book about yoga postures for various ailments is Yogic Cure for Common Diseases by Dr P. Sinha (below). The doctor suggests program of yoga postures for abdominal disorders, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, obesity, high blood pressure, sinus problems, mental problems, and others. [Touch]

Yoga Coping, Health and Sex