Padmasan

About padmasana benefit of padmasana process of padmasana

Yoga is generally considered a complete life change, not just an introduction of exercise in to your life. Yoga can often alter your life. It forces you to contemplate what is missing or incomplete in your life and helps brings balance to those aspects. Any form of yoga, though evolved from the original forms of yoga, also helps achieve that balance. The aim of the yoga is to unite mind, body and spirit and all the asanas and deep breathing techniques help achieve this.

Basic yoga involves concentrating on different systems in your body with the help of different asanas, trying to right their balance.  Deep breathing or pranayam also help in balancing out all the systems in your body. Doing a combination of these asanas, in repetitions can slowly restore good health and make you stronger and your body immune to diseases.

Lotus yoga is a form of yoga that has been created from the need for more institutes that teach yoga and to increase the spread of yoga. Lotus yoga is taught at the Lotus Yoga Institute based in south India. Lotus yoga emphasizes teaching yoga in such a way that it deepens the understanding of the practice for the student and also helps the students apply it more often in their daily lives.

 The Lotus Yoga Institute has been founded by Master Karuna who is also the director of the institute. He was inspired by Swami Sivananda’s revival of yoga. This revival lays importance on the synthesis of the four paths of yoga—karma, bhakti, raja, jnana, leading to an all-round change in one’s life. This form of yoga is being spread across the globe by his students.

The poses in Lotus yoga consist of bandhas and mudras. The Bandhas include the mula bandha which is a cervix retraction lock; Jalandhara bandha or the throat lock; uddiyana bandha or the abdominal retraction lock and finally the most important lock, maha bandha. This lock is the lock that takes you one step closer to salvation, according to lotus yoga and its meaning. There mudras or positions in lotus yoga help released blocked energies and help you closer to your mission of salvation and union of body and mind.

In order to practice yoga in general you need certain types of clothes. These clothes should ideally be made of cotton and be comfortable. You should not wear clothes that are tight or ill-fitting or clothes that are made from materials that do not allow the skin to breathe. Yoga emphasizes deep breathing which also regulates all the systems in the body. Therefore it is important that the clothes you wear during the practice of yoga are just as important as the other aspects of yoga that need to be done correctly in order to get full benefit from the asanas. Yoga sometimes also needs some props like comfortable and clean yoga mats and also some exercise balls. Yoga mats are artificially fabricated mats designed to improve posture and grip during the practice of different asanas or poses. The typical dimensions of yoga mats are 72 inches long and 24 inches wide. Sometimes extra wide mats are preferred to the more complex poses. These mats are made of PVC or even with organic material like jute or rubber. It is simple to keep these mats clean by wiping them with a wet cloth or with disinfectant and air dying the mat. Sometimes exercise balls are also used while doing yoga. Exercise balls, also made of PVC or plastic, can be used extensively in floor exercises. The aim of the exercise ball is to engage more muscles that doing exercises on a flat surface. The ball makes it difficult to easily keep the muscles engaged effectively. Using the exercise ball regularly also helps make these muscles stronger.  The body’s core muscles like abdominal muscles and back muscles greatly benefit from using the exercise ball in strengthening them.

Lotus yoga does not have special wear and you would need regular pants and comfortable apparel, along with mat. Clothing in lotus yoga need not be specific but has to be comfortable. In America, lotus yoga is usually taught in a studio space. The Lotus yoga center is like any yoga retreat where you are given space and ability to learn and master the practice of yoga. Lotus yoga uses the space at the retreat to balance the various aspects of your life.

There are other foundations around that world that have now become centers for the spread of yoga. One such foundation is Shakti yoga. There are many studios across America that spread the message of peace through yoga - laughing lotus yoga, frog lotus yoga and wild lotus yoga. These studios teach all forms of yoga, not just lotus yoga. Shakti yoga also involves teaching concentrated yoga forms with a mentor relationship with your teacher. Shakti yoga includes even teacher training that helps you develop a strong bond with yoga and helps you to pass the knowledge on. Shakti yoga is also known worldwide as yoga that is taken and learnt in the form of an adventure. Shakti yoga takes you on an adventure with like-minded people where you learn about yoga and how it can seamlessly integrated into your life. The yoga holiday helps bring into the focus the ability to integrate it faster. Shakti yoga is yoga included in an outdoor lifestyle. You can sign up for a yoga retreat where you learn yoga, commune with nature and balance your life -- a seemingly simple life solution where the sense of community and oneness is also heightened. Shakti yoga includes different forms of Vinyasa yoga, Luna yoga, Ashtanga yoga and Hatha yoga. You can choose the style of yoga best suited to you coupled with the best outdoor activities that work for you. You can even employ teachers and trainers who have been trained under shakti yoga and formulate an adventure holiday of your own. There are even volunteer opportunities with such programs.

Submitted by A on June 15, 2011 at 06:13

I’m afraid your question is rather vague and incomplete. There are numerous benefits accruing to the practise of each and every Yoga pose, including PADMASANA. In what context are you asking and why? Is it for general health, a specific health problem, meditation or pranayama?

Submitted by A on August 3, 2007 at 05:32

Read more questions in Yoga Poses & Asanas