Yoga for brain and concentration

1.Vrikshasana or the tree pose: This asana is practised in a standing posture, and benefits the ankle and the knees while also developing memory and concentration. Steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Stand erect. Lift the right leg, bend it at the knees and place it on the left thigh. Bring your palms close to your chest as in a prayer position. Shift your gaze to a point on the floor and stare. Hold this position for a few breaths and relax while returning to the original position. Repeat the same with the other leg.

2.Natarajasana or the dancers pose: This pose enhances balance, memory, focus and concentration. Steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Stand erect. Bend the right knee and hold the knee at the ankles with your fingers. Inhale as you lift the left arm straight above the head. Exhale as you pull the right leg up and away from the body. Then fix your gaze steadily at a point on the floor for a few breaths. Repeat the same with the other leg.

Pranayama It is apt to quote the Patanjali sutras that say , The mind become s calm by regulating the expulsion and retention of the breath. Yogic breathing is a powerful tool to bring in more oxygen to the brain and blood. This facilitates in the development of memory and concentration. Yogic breathing Anuloma Viloma Anuloma Viloma is also called alternate nostril breathing. Insights into the yogic texts describe the presence of the Ida nerve current, which flows through the left nostril and the Pingala current, which flows through the right nostril. It is said, that the breath flows through the right nostril for one hour, and then through the left nostril for another hour. Any alteration in this pattern of the flow of breath results in disease. Steps: 1. Sit in a comfortable position and relax all the muscles of the body. 2. Exhale deeply through both nostrils. 3. Close your right nostril and inhale through the left nostril. Next, gently close the left nostril and release or exhale the breath through the right nostril. This constitutes one cycle of breathing practice. 4. Close your left nostril and inhale through the right nostril. Close the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril. This makes another cycle of breathing exercise.

Note: Breathing should be normal, regular and deep during the practice. Practice of this exercise calms the mind, and prepares it for deep meditation. Meditation Finding peace amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, meditation is a time-tested method to experience the divine presence or consciousness within. An intense feeling of inner peace and abounding bliss envelops the being after deep meditation. It also helps in developing a non-judgmental attitude towards people and situations. Meditation on the third eye helps develop memory power. Steps: 1. Sit in a cross-legged position. 2. Close your eyes and fix your attention at the point between the eyebrows. By focusing on this inner vision, we achieve clarity and creative insight.This chakra is also called Ajna chakra and the colour it radiates is emerald green. Focus your concentration on this center and feel the energy it radiates. Benefit: By focusing on this inner vision, we achieve clarity of thought and purpose. The power of creative insight is also honed through this technique.

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1. Salutation Seal
This simple breathing exercise is a great way to start your practice. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, bring your hands into prayer position. Try to quiet your mind, focusing instead on inhaling and exhaling deeply while keeping your spine nice and straight. Salutation seal really helps bring focus to the rest of your practice.its so centering!

2. Alternate Nostril Breathing

Another breathing exercise, practicing alternate nostril breathing for a couple of minutes can really help clear your mind. Like with salutation seal, youll sit cross legged. Hold your right hand with your palm in front of your face, and fold down your pointer and middle fingers. Before you inhale, use your thumb to hold your right nostril closed. Hold onto that breath, then release the right nostril and use your ring finger to hold your left nostril closed as you exhale. Now, inhale while still holding the left nostril closed, then switch nostrils to exhale. Repeat this cycle for a couple of minutes to focus your mind and clear your head of distracting thoughts.

3. Tree Stand
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Balance poses are excellent for concentration! You can do tree stand in a number of ways, but to start stand up straight with your hip distance apart. Bend your right knee and grab hold of your right knee with both hands. Once you feel like you have your balance, move your grasp so youre holding your right foot, and slowly place that foot on your left thigh with the toes pointed toward the floor. Move your hands into prayer, and breathe here for about 30 seconds. If you feel balanced with your hands in prayer, you can move them over your head and either hold them with your arms straight and palms facing each other or place your palms together over your head. Repeat this on your left side.

4. Crane Pose
This is another balancing posture, but this time youre balancing on your arms. Start out in a squat with your feet hip distance apart. Move your legs so that your shins are right in line with your armpits, then place your palms on the floor in front of you. Ever so slowly, tilt your weight forward. The idea here is to get your feet off the floor, so youre balancing fully on your hands. Crane pose is a bit tricky, but if you keep at it, the payoff is so worth it. Not only does this help with concentration, but its so gratifying when this posture finally clicks.

5. Seated Forward Bend

A gentle forward bend goes a long way toward quieting the mind. To do this simple posture, sit on the floor with your feet out in front of you and a straight back. Inhale, and lift your arms above your head, stretching your spine. On your exhale, fold forward at your hips, reaching toward your feet. Grab your leg wherever you can reach knees, shins, or feet then just relax and breathe here for up to 30 seconds.

6. Camel Pose
Backward bending is about facing our fears, which goes a long way toward quieting those distracting thoughts in our heads. Start sitting on your knees, then raise your bottom off of your feet, so your thighs are perpendicular to the floor. Place your hands on your lower back, then inhale and arch back slowly, letting your head hang gently backwards. If you feel comfortable there, you can take camel pose to the next level by taking your hands off of your back and grabbing your right foot with your right hand and left foot with the left hand. Stay here for 10-12 deep breaths. Regardless of how far you take the pose, make sure you move your hands to support your lower back as you come out of it, and come up slowly. Your head should be the last thing you straighten.

7. Reclining Hero Pose

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Relaxation poses help you focus in a way similar to some of the breathing exercises. Sit on your knees, then move your feet apart slowly until your bottom is on the floor. Inhale and straighten your spine, then exhale as you lean backwards. The idea here is to relax your back onto the floor. Lay your arms at your sides, palms facing upward and focus on taking deep breaths. You can hold this pose for 30 seconds or up to five full minutes. If this is too much on your knees, you can try savasana instead. Rather than laying with your knees bent, just lay on your back with your legs straight out and feet hip distance apart. Relax, breathe, and clear your mind. X
SARVANAGASAN Regular practice of this asana supplies fresh oxygenated blood to the brain. It makes the pituitary and pineal glands healthy, and so activates the brain. It increases the memory power, grasping power and intelligence among the children. It activates the thyroid and pituitary glands. It cures tiredness, weakness and obesity in the children. It makes the eyes, ears, nose and other organs healthy. It improves the digestive system, activates the intestines, liver and increases the digestive fire. It cures enlarged liver, swelling, hysteria, hydrocele, hernia and constipation. Method: Lie flat on the back in the shava-asana. 1. Inhale through the nostrils. Place the palms face-down on the floor. Keeping the hips on the floor, bend the knees and bring them up toward the stomach while exhaling. 2. Inhale slowly through the nostrils, press down on the hands and lift the torso from the waist up off the floor, arching the spine backwards and straightening the arms. Keep the hips on the floor. 3. Inhale, then while exhaling, raise the legs straight up perpendicular to the floor. You may support your hips with your hands or leave the arms flat on the floor, whichever is most comfortable. 4. The legs should be together with the knees straight and toes pointed straight up. Keep the head straight without turning it to either side. The chin should be pressed against the chest. 5. Breath gently through the nostrils while the posture is held. 6. Reverse the steps to return to the shava-asana. Caution: Avoid this asana in case of neck and back pain. BHUJANGASANA This Rejuvenating asana is also beneficial for improving memory power. It cures backache, sciatica pain, slip disc, cervical spondylitis and other spinal problems. It strengthens the thyroid, para thyroid glands. It is useful in case of asthma.
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It strengthens the liver and is useful in case of loss of appetite, acidity, diabetes and other stomach related problems. It makes the backbone flexible and healthy. Method: Lie down on your stomach; keep the palms on the ground on both sides of the chest. The elbows should be lifted upwards and the shoulders should be close to the chest. Lie flat on the abdomen in prone position. 1. Lie on your belly, while your head rests on your lower arms. 2. Raise your forehead, look upwards and stretch your hands backwards. Let your weight rest on your chest. 3. The head falls a little backwards towards your back and the backward movement proceeds from the neck and the chin. Move your belly further backward as if someone is pulling your arms. The weight is more and more shifted towards the belly and the lower back does the real work. 4. If you cannot raise your chest any further, put your hands and arms next to your chest on the mat without losing the bend. Stretch your arms so that they stand perpendicular on the floor and at the same time turn your arms a little inward. Relax your lower back and bear your weight with your arms. 5. The buttock muscles remain relaxed during the exercise. Move your chest further upwards with every breathing out. Do this in a relaxed way instead of using force. You can tilt your head back. The shoulders are broad in front and the shoulder blades remain low. X.. Salutation Seal- This one of the easiest and most convenient of all yoga poses to improve concentration. Just sit cross legged on the floor and join your palms together. Keep your spine erect and take deep breaths. Rid your mind of all the worries and see how this yoga position for concentration helps you to improve your focus. You may do this for 15 minutes regularly.

Lotus Pose- This is the simple padmasana pose. Sit with your legs crossed and back straight. Place the tips of your thumb and index finger together and keep your hands on the knee; try to meditate. Inhale and exhale deeply. Do this for 10-25 minutes as it will restore the natural balance between the mind and body along with soothing the nervous system. It will bring a single-pointed direction in your thinking. Crane Pose- This is a balancing yoga posture. First stand straight and then slowly crouch down with your feet apart. Place your hands on the floor and try to raise your legs in the air. The whole idea in this yoga of concentration is to balance your self on your hands only. This might seem tough but once you are done this will have outstanding benefits in improving your concentration. Stay in this position for as long as you can bear your weight. Seated Forward Bend- A seated forward bend position is a great yoga position for concentration. Just sit down with your legs stretched in front of you and a straight back. Stretch you hands above your head and exhale. Now bend forward and touch your feet. Hold this position and breathe for 20-30 seconds. Come back to your seated position after this and relax. Repeat the same for the next 5-10 minutes. Alternate Nostril Breathing- Alternate nostril breathing is also a kind of yoga that enhances your ability to concentrate. Sit cross legged and hold your right
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nostril with a finger. Inhale and exhale through the other one. Now release your finger and repeat the same activity with the left nostril. Do it for 5-6 minutes regularly as it is a great yoga position for concentration that clears your mind and helps you to concentrate. Try any one or all of these yoga poses to improve concentration. Concentration is very essential to achieve success in all that you do. .X..

YOGA POSES FOR CONCENTRATION Mountain Pose

The Mountain Pose is one of the most important poses in yoga. It is the start and finish point of all standing poses. When standing in mountain pose, the mind is quiet and the body strong and still, like a mountain. This is a pose you can practise in your daily life, practising to stand correctly will have a profound influence on your physical and mental well being.
Forward Bend Pose

Stretches the legs and spine, rests the heart and neck, and relaxes mind and body. Forward bend poses look very simple and easy but they do have very beneficial effects on the entire system. The forward bend asanas or postures have a massaging action on the organs in the upper body. Forward bends open up your back, promote total exhalation of air from the lungs by compressing the chest and also help to calm down your mind.
Triangle Pose

In this exercise, you build up strength in the lower back and upper legs while you remove tension from the lower and upper back, the hips and the hamstrings through both the twist and the stretching. The exercise is good for your sense of coordination and sense of balance. You need a lot of concentration and precision to be able to carry it out correctly.
Sun Salutation

Sun Salution is one of the more common postures within Yoga. This particular exercise not only stretches your spine and joints, but also works to regulate your breathing, calm your mind, and energize your body. Generally, Sun Salutation is used to begin a set of Yoga exercises. You can use it to begin your day.

Downward facing dog Pose

This pose is named as such as it resembles the shape of a Dog stretching itself out. This pose helps to strengthen, stretch and reduce stiffness in the legs while strengthening and shaping the upper body. Holding this pose for a minute or longer will stimulate and restore energy levels if you are tired. Regular practice of this pose rejuvenates the entire body and gently stimulates your nervous system.
YOGA ASANAS FOR CONCENTRATION SHAVASANA Shavasana is relaxation of body and mind in the position of lying on the back. This asana helps in relaxing mind and body and helps in restoring energy. It is a relaxing posture intended to rejuvenate one's body, mind and spirit. While shavasana is a good way to reduce stress and tension it is not recommended for meditation as it has a tendency to induce sleepiness. Steps

Lie on the back. Keep your spine, navel & pelvic in one line. Keep feet apart. Keep arms on the each side of body, palms facing to sky. Keep neck right or left side. Close your eyes & slowly try to concentrate each part of the body & try to relax that part.

SARVANGASANA This asana is very good for the thyroid gland. This asana improves the reproductive organs in both men and women. It also helps in relieving bronchitis, dyspepsia, and varicose veins and increases digestive capacity. It stimulates the thyroid and para-thyroid glands and influences the brain, heart and lungs, and improves blood circulation. However, those suffering from high blood pressure should not practice this posture. The sarvanga-asana should not be performed by woman who are menstruating, as is the case with all inverted postures (where the legs are raise over the head.

Steps

Lie on your back with legs and arms straight, feet together and palms on the floor beside your body. While exhaling, raise your legs slowly upto 90 and then the whole body and the rest your weight on the arms so that the chin touches the jugular notch. Bring the arms and hands to support your body at the hip region (fingers at the back and thumb in front of the body). The entire weight of your body rests on the head, neck and shoulders while the arms are used for balancing. Keep the trunk, legs and hips in a straight line and as vertical as possible Focus your eyes on your toes, with your chin pressed against the chest. Retain the posture for one for three minutes. While exhaling, return to the lying position by bringing the leg backward and releasing the hands and the palms.

MATSYASANA This asana is very useful for persons suffering from chronic cough, bronchial asthma, congestion, infected tonsils and other respiratory disorders. Problems relating to thyroid and parathyroid glands can also be overcome be done to derive the full of Sarvangasana.it is recommended that you breath while holding it for between two and four minutes. Steps

Sit with your legs fully stretched out. Bend each leg at the knees and place your feet on the other hip joint. Both the heels are adjusted in such a way that each presses the adjacent portion of the abdomen. This forms the foot-lock in a sitting position. Bend backwards and, exhaling, rest your weight on the elbows. Push your neck backwards and slightly rise the hip upward thus making an arch of the spine. Then, by making hooks of the forefingers, hold your toes on the corresponding side without crossing your arms.This posture should be maintained for some time with slow and deep breathing. For reverting to the original position, release the foot-lock and return to the supine position by lowering the arch.

SHIRSHASANA

Sirsasana meaning headstand is considered to be one of the most important yoga poses. Sirsasana is known as "the queen of poses", and the reason relates to the effect it has on the brain and mind. The inversion of this pose causes increased and unrestricted blood flow to the brain. This brings increased oxygen, nutrient and vitality providing energy to the mind, clarity of thought and ease of concentration.

Steps

Start by placing yourself opposite to a wall. Sitting on your legs, bend the elbows and place hands on opposite arms. Lean forward and place the elbows down perpendicular to the floor. Without moving the elbows open the lower arms into a triangular shape, creating an 80 degrees angle. Keep fingers interlocked. Place the crown of the back on the floor supported by the hands. Keep the hands on the back of the head. Straighten the knees and walk towards the body, raising the upper body. Lift the legs up balancing the legs on a wall to start with until you can balance your body up without falling onto your back. Bring feet away from the wall keeping the knees up straight. Breathing normally, concentrating on the breathing for balance. Keep the pressure away from the head supporting the body weight mainly with the forearms. Hold this posture for about 3 to 5 minutes to obtain maximum benefit. To come out drop the legs down gradually and rest in the child pose for at least 10 seconds.

PARYANKASANA Paryanka means a bed, couch or sofa. This asana is a continuation of Supta Virasana. In it the body resembles a couch, hence the name.

Steps

Sit in Virasana Exhale and recline on the back. Let the neck and the chest and arching the back up rest only the crown of the head on the floor. No part of the trunk should be on the floor. Bend the arms at the elbows. Hold with the right hand the left upper arm near the elbows and with the left hand the right upper arm near the elbow. Rest the folded arms on the floor behind the head. Stay in the pose for a minute with even breathing. Inhale, rest the trunk and d neck on the floor, release the hands and sit up in Virasana. 9

Then straighten the legs one by one, lie flat on the back and relax.

..X There are basically two different ways in which yoga can help your memory. One is through asanas or postures, and the second way is through breathing exercises. All of these techniques have elements in common. They tend to drive oxygen and blood towards the brain hence making the mind a more tranquil place. Increased serenity will invigorate our mental functions and activities. Hub-pages.com re-iterates the importance of blood flow and oxygen to nourish the brain, and it's functions. They recommend a few asanas for memory loss.

Open-legged forward bend is the first posture they discuss. They suggest incorporating this into your daily routine. Through the action of bending forward you send blood to the brain therefore improving the memory as well as other mental functions. Sarvangasana or shoulder stand pose, also augments blood flow towards the brain to improve the mind and stimulates pineal and pituitary glands. It calms the mind and is a great treatment for depression and anxiety. Bhujangasana - cobra pose, although primarily a spine strengthening pose, revitalizes you and in doing so improves your memory. Yogawiz.com says through Dharana, the act of concentration, yoga works to reduce stress and therefore strengthens your mental functions. Through meditative and breathing exercises such as Pranayama and Kapalbhati (breath of fire), you can learn to focus your mind, send ample oxygen to your brain, which will revitalize it and remove any blockages that may have occurred. They give some tips about the breathing exercises ideal for memory improvement. Pranayama helps improve concentration and focus pumping oxygen (Prana which is otherwise known as life force) through your entire body including your brain. Om chanting is also said to help improve mental function. Theholisticcare.com breaks it down as follows. There are three sounds - A, U & M. A (pronounced ah) stimulates the spinal cord, U (pronounced "oo") stimulates the thyroid, and M (pronounced "im") stimulates the brain. It produces an incredibly powerful energy. Kapalbhati Breathing, also known as breath of fire, is known for its power to eliminate toxins from the body. It sends energy towards and calms the mind. This, as in many other exercises, will enhance mental function and therefore improve memory. Bhastrika breathing exercise is also excellent for memory loss. It calms the nervous system and as a result helps our memory. It calms the Prana, allowing it to travel to the brain. With all of the physical benefits that yoga offers, we can sometimes forget about the mind and soul. There are so many postures that bring peace to our minds and clear cluttered and disorganized thought. The clearer our minds, the more powerful they become. This will sharpen our mental power, and make it easier for us to retain information and be more productive at any of our intellectual pursuits.

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