Guidelines for Yoga Practice

To reap maximum benefits from yoga practice, you are advised to adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Right time: Early morning, empty stomach is the best time to perform yoga. If you prefer to practice in the afternoon or in the evening, make sure that you do not eat or drink caffeinated products or tea in the preceding 3 hours.
2. Place: The place should be clean and silent. Practice on a yoga mat or carpet.
3. Practice: If you practice 60 minutes of yoga and meditation every day, you will start getting the results very soon. Patience is very important for yoga practice.
4. Air: It is good to practice yoga in fresh air. Switch off fans and air cooling systems while practicing.
5. Energy: While doing meditation, you can take a blanket or shawl over you. During meditation, body releases a lot of energy. This energy helps in building stronger immune system and experiencing inner peace.
6. Silence: While practicing do not talk, switch off TV and mobile phone. These are very personal moments for your inner growth.
7. Water: Right after practice, do not drink water. After one hour, you can drink water that is not very cold or very hot.
8. Number of times: Once a day of consistent practice is advised for yogic practitioners. In case of therapy patients, it is advisable to continue as recommended by the therapists.
9. Awareness: During practice, pay full attention and concentration to breath and other points of stretch, pressure, and pain sensations to deepen the practice. Never give negative attention to the sensations.
10. Ability: Yoga should be practiced according to one’s own capacity.
11. Pain: Yoga practice helps to open up muscles and joints which might cause pain in the early practices, but with continued practice, the muscles and joints become strengthened.
12. Turmeric: For pain related to asana practice, you can take a glass of warm milk with a teaspoon full of turmeric added into it before going to bed.
13. Thinking pattern: While practicing, think about progress and allow positivity to gain excellent results.
14. Natural pain killer: Yoga is the natural pain killer, which takes away the pain from the root cause.
15. Vata and Kapha: Vata causes a lot of pain in the body and Kapha brings heaviness. Avoid foods like rice, yogurt, banana, beans etc. before going to bed.
16. Waist: Yoga practice keeps the waist area in balance. According to Ayurveda, most of the disease occur from imbalanced belly.
17. Balance: Awareness towards balance is the priority. While practicing in the beginning, keep the eyes open, then slowly with practice keep the eyes closed.
18. Mind: “If you win the mind, you win the world”. Keep the concentration in the asana without letting the mind to future plans or past occurrences.
19. Breath: Breath awareness is an important parameter. Do not hold the breath unless guided.
20. Regularity is very important.
21. Action and relaxation: After every action, there need be relaxation to have maximum benefits.
22. Stamina: Increase the time of practice gradually to build up the stamina. Increase the time every week slowly and gradually.
23. If you feel discomfort in performing in standing position, perform in sitting position. If performing in sitting position is also difficult, asanas can also be performed in the lying down position.
24. People with knee pain or back pain should perform the asanas with precautions under proper guidance from the registered therapists.
25. For any clarifications in the yoga practices, feel free to visit Paramanand Institute of Yoga Sciences & Research at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India or you may also write to omanandji@gmail.com.