| How to Feel Beautiful on the Inside Posted: 19 Mar 2017 05:00 PM PDT Public opinion may have some say in who is labeled as "beautiful" on the outside, but inner beauty takes on a whole other meaning. Feeling beautiful on the inside has more to do with your character than your appearance. Learn what beauty means to you and have the confidence to live by your own rules starting today. EditDefining Beauty in Your Own Terms - Ask yourself what beauty means to you. How do you define inner beauty? Is it a person who is always smiling? Someone who has kind words for everyone she meets? Or, is your definition of beauty more complex? A person who endures, loves, and personifies strength? Take a moment to reflect on what beauty means to you. Grab a pen and a notebook and jot down adjectives or even nouns that help you describe inner beauty.[1]
- Remember that inner beauty is subjective, meaning it's up to you how you define it. Don't depend on society's viewpoint, trust your instincts. Without doing any research or asking for anyone else's opinion, attempt to establish your own standards of what it means to be beautiful on the inside.
- Conduct a self-assessment. Humans can be described through a long list of positive traits. These may include honesty, integrity, fairness, compassion, leadership, forgiveness, hope and open-mindedness. After you have made your list of traits that mark a person who is beautiful on the inside, see how your own character strengths compare. Odds are, many of the traits you listed as being important will overlap with traits you actually hold. Visit the VIA Institute on Character to complete your character strengths inventory.[2][3]
- Research shows that when people are knowledgeable about their own character strengths (and make use of them) they enjoy enhanced well-being and life satisfaction. Uncovering your virtues can help you make greater use of them and understand who you are. Ultimately, recognizing what you have to offer can also help you to feel more beautiful on the inside, too.
- Look beyond the mirror. Acknowledge that what you look like on the outside is only a fraction of your beauty. Don't allow yourself to be limited by societal definitions of your outward appearance. When it comes down to what's on the inside, your physical attributes can never measure up to certain attributes such as patience, kindness, and empathy.
- Magnify all the wonderful little traits you hold that are not clearly visible. Think of yourself as a book. Like the old saying goes, "you should never judge a book by its cover". If you only pay attention to people's surface looks, you can miss out on all the other amazing qualities they possess.
- Don't try to change yourself for others. Recognize that there is something uniquely special about you, just as there is about all human beings. Don't depend on others' impressions of you to determine how you view yourself. If you ever have doubts about who you are and why you're special, go back and look at the results of your character strengths assessment. This is proof that you have something of value to offer the world. Learn to love and accept yourself as you are.[4]
- Just as you shouldn't try to change yourself to appease others, you also shouldn't compete with others. The only person you should be trying to compete with is yourself. If you want to improve something about yourself, do it for your future self, not for anyone else.
- Have confidence in who you are. In addition to highlighting your character strengths, you can apply other strategies to feel more confident. Frequently engage in activities in which you perform well. This can be anything from making music to playing sports. Doing things you are good at builds self-esteem.[5][6]
- Stop comparing yourself to others. There will always be someone who is better at a given skill than you. Comparing yourself only serves to diminish your strengths rather than amplifying them.
- You should also be cautious of where you get feelings of confidence. If these good vibes only come when someone else has found approval in your abilities, your confidence is unstable. Don't count on others' approval of you to maintain your approval of yourself.
- Smile and laugh more. Try smiling. Even if you don't quite feel up to it at the moment, just arranging your face into a smiling expression can radically change your mood. Smiles can lead to a more positive mood and a more hopeful attitude. Furthermore, you should try to laugh as much as possible. Laughter is contagious. It can lead to you not only feeling beautiful inside, but causing others to radiate towards you and improve your outer beauty, too.[7]
- The benefits of laughter are numerous. Longer lifespan, greater immunity, optimism, and hormone regulation can all be influenced by a good chuckle.[8]
- Notice the beauty around you. A surefire method to enhancing your own inner beauty is adopting the habit of seeing the beauty in everything. All around you, every day, there are wondrous people, places and things. Make an effort to slow down and acknowledge these daily.[9]
- In the morning, listen to the birdsong. Take in the rising sun. Literally stop and smell the roses. Instead of rushing through your morning routine, strive to be mindful of the tiny moments that come together to create your life.
- Notice the old lady's smile as she crosses the street. Allow children laughing at the playground to be a soundtrack to your lunch hour. Acknowledge little kindnesses like people holding doors for others, or buying a coffee for the person behind them in line.
EditWorking on Yourself - Be grateful. Gratitude is defined as "the quality of being thankful" or "readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness". There are myriad ways you can express gratitude. Say thanks to a friend, teacher, parent, or sibling for all that they do to encourage or help you. Express appreciation to the universe, the earth or a higher power for your life and for sustaining your life.[10]
- Exhibit gratitude by meditating on all the things you are grateful for, keeping a gratitude journal, praying, and writing "thank you" letters.
- However, you do it, gratitude offers a wide range of benefits for the grateful. Benefits of gratitude may include:
- Decreases your likelihood of being superficial or judging others by their possessions
- Increases your likelihood of sharing with others
- Improves relationships
- Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression
- Encourages you to help others
- Increases life satisfaction
- Leave people, places, and things better than you found them. In other words, make a positive impact on all you encounter. No matter where your life's journey leads you, make a commitment to helping those around you or the environment rather than hurting them. In your job, at school, in your community, and in your relationships, strive to make an impression that makes people happy to see you come and sad to see you go.
- Be of service to others. Get involved in your local community. Help out at a homeless shelter. Babysit your neighbors' kids so they can enjoy a well-deserved date night. Assist your elderly neighbor with household chores. Be a positive role model to the youth. Make a difference in someone else's life and you will surely feel more beautiful inside and out.
- Studies reveal that volunteering, or community service, helps you to transform your own and the lives of others, strengthen communities, form connections, and solve problems. Offering help to those in need can also reduce rates of depression, improve your functional abilities, and decrease mortality.[11]
- Think positively. Your outlook on life can have a major influence on how beautiful you feel inside. If you are pessimistic and continuously looking at the glass as being half-empty, you have a tendency to create a self-fulfilling prophecy in which how you think determines your reality - a negative one. On the other hand, if you look at the glass as being half-full, you are more likely to see and more grasp opportunities. What's more, positive thinking can lead to better immune functioning, greater physical and mental well-being, and improve stress management.[12]
- Optimism can be learned. The first step, however, is to recognize and identify when you are thinking negatively. Negative thoughts tend to be irrational and over-generalizations. "Yesterday was a horrible day. This whole week is ruined." Plus, you can often tell through physical signs (i.e. heaviness in your chest, doomed feeling) when negative thoughts are running through your head.
- Once you learn to be aware of negative thinking, try to alter these thoughts into more positive or realistic versions. For example, rather than generalizing that the whole week will be ruined based on one day, a positive version may sound like, "Today was tough. I will get a good night's rest and hope tomorrow is an improvement."
- Be courteous. Feeling beautiful on the inside has just as much to do with how you treat others as it does how you treat yourself. Practicing proper etiquette in social situations is vital to building a good character. This goes back to behaviors you were taught in grade school: maintain eye contact when you're speaking with someone, greet others when you enter a group, smile, remember people's names, hold doors, etc.
- For more detailed explanations of proper etiquette in certain settings, like at an interview, at a party, or at dinner, check out this guideline from Binghamton University.[13]
- Not only does making yourself feel beautiful on the inside boost your self-esteem, self-confidence and motivation, but you are now a role model for others.
- Having good character is important to feel beautiful on the inside, if you make someone feel good, chances are, you'll feel good too.
EditRelated wikiHows EditSources and Citations
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| How to Do a Sun Salutation Posted: 19 Mar 2017 09:00 AM PDT Sun salutations, or surya namaskar in Sanskrit, are an integral and flowing sequence, or vinyasa, for any yoga practice.[1] There are different variations of sun salutations.[2] You should start every yoga practice with several rounds of sun salutations to warm yourself up and help gain your focus, or drishti, for your practice.[3] Anyone from experienced yogis to beginners can enjoy the benefits of practicing sun salutations. EditPracticing Surya Namaskar A - Learn the benefits of sun salutations. Surya namaskar is an important foundational vinyasa in yoga that will energize, calm, and relax you. It can also stretch your entire body while strengthening your arms, shoulders, and legs. Practicing regularly may aid digestion, and relieve back pain.[4]
- Talk to your doctor before you begin any yoga practice to make sure you're healthy enough to practice.[5]
- Be careful practicing sun salutations if you have any back, arm, or shoulder injuries. Those with motion disorders, including ear infections, should also be careful.[6]
- Stand in tadasana or mountain pose. Start by standing in tadasana, or mountain pose, at the front of a yoga mat. This will allow you to most easily flow into the sun salutation from standing.[7]
- Tadasana, or mountain pose, is when you stand at the front of a yoga mat with your feet hip width apart and your arms at your sides. Gaze forward, spread your toes, and make sure your balance is evenly distributed between both feet.[8]
- Make sure to engage your abdominals and lightly pull your sacrum toward the ground, which is sometimes referred to as engaging your root lock or mula bandha.[9]
- Inhale and exhale evenly through your nose. If you can, make a slight sound like the sea when you breathe. This is called ujayyi breathing and can help you flow through your downward dog more effectively.[10]
- Place your hands in a prayer position in front of your heart and set an intention. No yoga practice is complete without setting an intention. By taking a few seconds to dedicate your practice to something, you may be more effective at doing sun salutations.
- Lightly touch the bases of your palms, then the palms themselves, and finally your fingers to make prayer hands. You can leave a small space between your palms if you like to let energy flow.
- If you don't know what your intention is, consider something as simple as "letting go."
- Raise your prayer hands into an upward salute. Once you've set your intention, inhale and raise your hands towards the ceiling in an upward salute, which is also called urdhva hastasana.[11] Gently arch your back as you look up towards your hands.
- Make sure to completely extend your elbows and reach up through your fingers towards the ceiling. Only tip your head back slightly, making sure not to compress your cervical spine.[12]
- Do this without hunching your shoulders and make sure to keep your chest and heart area open.[13]
- You can take a slight backbend in urdhva hastasana, which is easiest to do by simply pulling down your sacrum, or tailbone.[14]
- Exhale and hinge into standing forward bend. Exhale and "plunge" into standing forward bend, which is also called uttanasana.[15]
- It's important to keep your back straight and hinge forward at your waist as you transition from upward salute (urdhva hastasana) to standing forward bend (uttanasana). It may help you to remember to keep your heart open.[16]
- Plant your palms flat on the floor next to either foot. Your fingers should point forward and be fully spread apart so that your entire palm is pressing into the floor, which will make it easier to flow into the following asanas.
- It's important to keep your abs engaged and in contact with your thighs.[17] If necessary, bend your knees to keep this contact.
- If your palms don't reach the floor, put them on blocks so that your entire hand is pressing into the floor.[18]
- Inhale and extend your spine into standing half forward bend. Gently inhale and extend your spine into a standing half forward bend, which is also called ardha uttanasana. This position will make it easier for you to enter the following asanas.
- Make sure to keep your spine straight as you extend halfway upward. You'll also want to keep your palms firmly planted on the floor next to your feet.[19]
- Make sure to keep your abs engaged while you're in this position.[20]
- Exhale and step or jump back to four limbed staff pose. Depending on how experienced you are at yoga, either step or jump back to four-limbed staff pose, which is called chatturanga dandasana in Sanskrit.[21] This is one of the most challenging positions and sequences in yoga, and may require years of practice to master.
- If you are a beginner, you'll want to step back to downward facing dog and then lower half down to the ground into chatturanga dandasana. Your upper arms should be parallel to the floor.[22]
- Those who have more experience with yoga can jump back and complete a end up in chatturanga dandasana.[23]
- Make sure your body is completely even: do not sink your hips or collapse your abdominals. Remaining strong through your core is key to this asana, or exercise. Your upper arms should form a 90 degree angle with the floor and should be close to your side ribs.[24]
- If you are not strong enough to hold yourself in this position, you can drop your knees to the floor until you build enough strength to support yourself.[25]
- Your toes should be flexed.[26]
- Inhale and roll over your toes to upward facing dog. From chatturanga dandasana, roll over your toes to an upward facing dog position, or urdhva mukha savasana. This will make it easier to transition to the next and your final position, downward facing dog.[27]
- Your hands should be in the same position in which they started and the palms should be fully pressing against the floor.[28]
- Use your flexed toes to roll over on to the backs of your feet. Keep your thighs engaged and off of the floor as you push your chest through your arms. Gently arch your back, open your chest, and look up at the ceiling.[29]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.[30]
- Pulling your sacrum towards your heels will protect your back and keep the position from hurting.[31]
- Exhale and roll over your toes into downward facing dog. You've reached the final asana and a well-earned rest. Exhale and roll back over your toes so that your body ends up in an inverted "V" shape, which is downward facing dog or adho mukha savasana in Sanskrit. This position should feel calming and allow you to rest as you get deeper into the asana, or pose.[32]
- Keep your palms pressing flat against the floor and your abs engaged[33]
- Roll your shoulders down your back and arms inward so the eyes of your elbows are facing one another.[34]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.
- Your heels may or may not touch the floor, depending on how flexible your lower back, hamstrings, and calf muscles are. The more you practice, the easier it will be to get your heels to the floor.[35]
- Keep lifting your sitting bones towards the ceiling.[36]
- You can keep your gaze towards your navel, but make sure you're head is hanging comfortably.[37]
- Exhale and transition back to ardha uttanasa. In order to finish the sun salutation, you need to end up in tadasana.[38] After five breaths in downward dog, bend your knees to your chest and either jump or step forward into ardha uttanasana, or half standing forward bend.
- Inhale and extend your spine into standing half forward bend. Gently inhale and extend your spine back into ardha uttanasana. This position will make it easier for you to re-enter uttanasana.[39]
- Make sure to keep your abs engaged, spine straight, and palms firmly planted on the floor next to your feet.[40]
- Exhale and fold forward into uttanasana. Hinging forward completely, exhale and fold completely forward into standing forward bend, or uttanasana. You're almost done with your first round of surya namaskar A!
- Inhale and rise into into an upward salute. You're ready to come full circle like the sun. Inhale and rise up radiantly by bringing your prayer hands towards the ceiling in urdhva hastasana.[41] Gently arch your back as you look up towards your hands.
- Remember to keep your spine straight as you rise into urdhva hastasana.[42]
- Exhale and return to tadasana. Bring your prayer hands back to your sides as you exhale and return to tadasana. Take a minute or two to enjoy the heart-opening effects and energizing effects of surya namaskar.[43]
- You can do as many more sun salutations as you like to help yourself warm up.
- Consider trying different variations of surya namaskar to help yourself warm up.
EditPracticing Surya Namaskar B - Place your hands in a prayer position in front of your heart and set an intention. No yoga practice is complete without setting an intention. By taking a few seconds to dedicate your practice to something, you may be more effective at doing sun salutations.
- Lightly touch the bases of your palms, then the palms themselves, and finally your fingers to make prayer hands. You can leave a small space between your palms if you like to let energy flow.
- If you don't know what your intention is, consider something as simple as "letting go."
- Stand in tadasana or mountain pose. Start by standing in tadasana, or mountain pose, at the front of a yoga mat. This will allow you to most easily flow into the sun salutation from standing.[44]
- Tadasana, or mountain pose, is when you stand at the front of a yoga mat with your feet hip width apart and your arms at your sides. Gaze forward, spread your toes, and make sure your balance is evenly distributed between both feet.[45]
- Make sure to engage your abdominals and lightly pull your sacrum toward the ground, which is sometimes referred to as engaging your root lock or mula bandha.[46]
- Inhale and exhale evenly through your nose. If you can, make a slight sound like the sea when you breathe. This is called ujayyi breathing and can help you flow through your downward dog more effectively.[47]
- Inhale, raise your prayer hands and bend your knees into chair pose. Taking a breath in, bend your knees while raising your prayer into chair pose, which is called uttkatasana in Sanskrit.[48] Gently arch your back as you look up towards your hands.
- Make sure to completely extend your elbows and reach up through your prayer hands towards the ceiling.[49]
- Do this without hunching your shoulders and make sure to keep your chest and heart area open.[50]
- Bend your knees deeply and try and get them parallel to the floor.[51]
- Pull your shoulder blades down your back and tilt your sacrum, or tailbone towards the floor.[52]
- Exhale and hinge into standing forward bend. Exhale and hinge forward into standing forward bend, which is also called uttanasana.[53]
- It's important to keep your back straight and hinge forward at your waist as you transition from upward salute (urdhva hastasana) to standing forward bend (uttanasana). It may help you to remember to keep your heart open.[54]
- Plant your palms flat on the floor next to either foot. Your fingers should point forward and be fully spread apart so that your entire palm is pressing into the floor, which will make it easier to flow into the following asanas.
- It's important to keep your abs engaged and in contact with your thighs.[55] If necessary, bend your knees to keep this contact.
- If your palms don't reach the floor, put them on blocks so that your entire hand is pressing into the floor.[56]
- Inhale and extend your spine into standing half forward bend. Gently inhale and extend your spine into a standing half forward bend, which is also called ardha uttanasana. This position will make it easier for you to enter the following asanas.
- Make sure to keep your spine straight as you extend halfway upward. You'll also want to keep your palms firmly planted on the floor next to your feet.[57]
- Make sure to keep your abs engaged while you're in this position.[58]
- Exhale and step or jump back to four limbed staff pose. Depending on how experienced you are at yoga, either step or jump back to four-limbed staff pose, which is called chatturanga dandasana in Sanskrit.[59] This is one of the most challenging positions and sequences in yoga, and may require years of practice to master.
- If you are a beginner, you'll want to step back to downward facing dog and then lower half down to the ground into chatturanga dandasana. Your upper arms should be parallel to the floor.[60]
- Those who have more experience with yoga can jump back and complete a end up in chatturanga dandasana.[61]
- Make sure your body is completely even: do not sink your hips or collapse your abdominals. Remaining strong through your core is key to this asana, or exercise. Your upper arms should form a 90 degree angle with the floor and should be close to your side ribs.[62]
- If you are not strong enough to hold yourself in this position, you can drop your knees to the floor until you build enough strength to support yourself.[63]
- Your toes should be flexed.[64]
- Inhale and roll over your toes to upward facing dog. From chatturanga dandasana, roll over your toes to an upward facing dog position, or urdhva mukha savasana. This will make it easier to transition to the next and your final position, downward facing dog.[65]
- Your hands should be in the same position in which they started and the palms should be fully pressing against the floor.[66]
- Use your flexed toes to roll over on to the backs of your feet. Keep your thighs engaged and off of the floor as you push your chest through your arms. Gently arch your back, open your chest, and look up at the ceiling.[67]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.[68]
- Pulling your sacrum towards your heels will protect your back and keep the position from hurting.[69]
- Exhale and roll over your toes into downward facing dog. Exhale and roll back over your toes so that your body ends up in an inverted "V" shape, which is downward facing dog or adho mukha savasana in Sanskrit. This position will act as a transition to your next asana.[70]
- Keep your palms pressing flat against the floor and your abs engaged.[71]
- Roll your shoulders down your back and arms inward so the eyes of your elbows are facing one another.[72]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.
- Your heels may or may not touch the floor, depending on how flexible your lower back, hamstrings, and calf muscles are. The more you practice, the easier it will be to get your heels to the floor.[73]
- Keep lifting your sitting bones towards the ceiling.[74]
- You can keep your gaze towards your navel, but make sure you're head is hanging comfortably.[75]
- Inhale and lunge your right leg into Warrior One pose. Take a breath in and lunge your right leg forward while lifting your torso so that it is perpendicular to the floor. Raise your arms into prayer hands and gently lift your ribs and body towards the sky.[76]
- In order to best get into Warrior One, which is called Virabhadrasana One in Sanskirt, turn in your left foot so that your arch is aligned with the heel of your right foot.[77] Keep your left heel firmly anchored to the floor.
- Your knee should be directly over your ankle and your shin perpendicular to the floor.[78] Aim to get your thigh parallel to the floor, which may take some practice.
- Keep your hips parallel and pointing forward.[79]
- It helps to raise your arms, which should be in a prayer pose, as if they were coming directly out of your heart.[80]
- Keep raising your arms as you lift your ribs and prayer towards the sky. This will help give you a slight backbend.[81]
- Exhale, step back, and lower into chatturanga dandasana. Taking a breath out, place your palms flat on the floor and step back and then lower your body into chatturanga dandasana. This is a very difficult series and may require significant practice before your master it.[82]
- Inhale and roll over your toes to upward facing dog. From chatturanga dandasana, roll over your toes to an upward facing dog position, or urdhva mukha savasana. This will make it easier to transition to the next position, downward facing dog.[83]
- Use your flexed toes to roll over on to the backs of your feet. Keep your thighs engaged and off of the floor as you push your chest through your arms. Gently arch your back, open your chest, and look up at the ceiling.[84]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.[85]
- Pulling your sacrum towards your heels will protect your back and keep the position from hurting.[86]
- Exhale and roll over your toes into downward facing dog. Exhale and roll back over your toes so that your body ends up in an inverted "V" shape, which is downward facing dog or adho mukha savasana in Sanskrit. This position will act as a transition to Warrior One on your left side.[87]
- Keep your palms pressing flat against the floor and your abs engaged.[88]
- Roll your shoulders down your back and arms inward so the eyes of your elbows are facing one another.[89]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.
- Your heels may or may not touch the floor, depending on how flexible your lower back, hamstrings, and calf muscles are. The more you practice, the easier it will be to get your heels to the floor.[90]
- Keep lifting your sitting bones towards the ceiling.[91]
- You can keep your gaze towards your navel, but make sure you're head is hanging comfortably.[92]
- Inhale and lunge your left leg into Warrior One pose. Take a breath in and lunge your left leg forward while lifting your torso so that it is perpendicular to the floor. Raise your arms into prayer hands and gently lift your ribs and body towards the sky.[93]
- In order to best get into Warrior One, which is called Virabhadrasana One in Sanskirt, turn in your right foot so that your arch is aligned with the heel of your left foot.[94] Keep your left heel firmly anchored to the floor.
- Your knee should be directly over your ankle and your shin perpendicular to the floor.[95] Aim to get your thigh parallel to the floor, which may take some practice.
- Keep your hips parallel and pointing forward and don't let your hip bone fall.[96]
- It helps to raise your arms, which should be in a prayer pose, as if they were coming directly out of your heart.[97]
- Exhale, step back, and lower into chatturanga dandasana. Taking a breath out, place your palms flat on the floor and step back and then lower your body into chatturanga dandasana. This is a very difficult series and may require significant practice before your master it.[98]
- Inhale and roll over your toes to upward facing dog. From chatturanga dandasana, roll over your toes to an upward facing dog position, or urdhva mukha savasana. This will make it easier to transition to the next position, downward facing dog.[99]
- Use your flexed toes to roll over on to the backs of your feet. Keep your thighs engaged and off of the floor as you push your chest through your arms. Gently arch your back, open your chest, and look up at the ceiling.[100]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.[101]
- Pulling your sacrum towards your heels will protect your back and keep the position from hurting.[102]
- Exhale and roll over your toes into downward facing dog. Exhale and roll back over your toes so that your body ends up in an inverted "V" shape, which is downward facing dog or adho mukha savasana in Sanskrit. This position will act as a transition to Warrior One on your left side.[103]
- Keep your palms pressing flat against the floor and your abs engaged.[104]
- Roll your shoulders down your back and arms inward so the eyes of your elbows are facing one another.[105]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.
- Your heels may or may not touch the floor, depending on how flexible your lower back, hamstrings, and calf muscles are. The more you practice, the easier it will be to get your heels to the floor.[106]
- Keep lifting your sitting bones towards the ceiling.[107]
- You can keep your gaze towards your navel, but make sure you're head is hanging comfortably.[108]
- Exhale and transition back to ardha uttanasa. In order to finish the sun salutation, you need to end up in tadasana.[109] On your final exhale in adho mukha savasana, bend your knees to your chest and either jump or step forward into ardha uttanasana, or half standing forward bend.
- Inhale and extend your spine into standing half forward bend. Gently inhale and extend your spine back into ardha uttanasana. This position will make it easier for you to re-enter uttanasana.[110]
- Make sure to keep your abs engaged, spine straight, and palms firmly planted on the floor next to your feet.[111]
- Exhale and fold forward into uttanasana. Hinging forward completely, exhale and fold completely forward into standing forward bend, or uttanasana. You're almost done with your first round of surya namaskar A!
- Inhale, raise your prayer hands and bend your knees into chair pose. Taking a breath in, bend your knees while raising your prayer and return to uttkatasana.[112] Gently arch your back as you look up towards your hands.
- Make sure to completely extend your elbows and reach up through your prayer hands towards the ceiling.[113]
- Do this without hunching your shoulders and make sure to keep your chest and heart area open.[114]
- Bend your knees deeply and try and get them parallel to the floor.[115]
- Pull your shoulder blades down your back and tilt your sacrum, or tailbone towards the floor.[116]
- Exhale and return to tadasana. Bring your prayer hands back to your sides as you exhale and return to tadasana. Take a minute or two to enjoy the heart-opening effects and energizing effects of surya namaskar.[117]
- You can do as many more sun salutations as you like to help yourself warm up.
- Consider trying different variations of surya namaskar to help yourself warm up.
EditPracticing Surya Namaskar C - Place your hands in a prayer position in front of your heart and set an intention. No yoga practice is complete without setting an intention. By taking a few seconds to dedicate your practice to something, you may be more effective at doing sun salutations.
- Lightly touch the bases of your palms, then the palms themselves, and finally your fingers to make prayer hands. You can leave a small space between your palms if you like to let energy flow.
- If you don't know what your intention is, consider something as simple as "letting go."
- Stand in tadasana or mountain pose. Start by standing in tadasana, or mountain pose, at the front of a yoga mat. This will allow you to most easily flow into Surya Namaskar B.[118]
- Tadasana, or mountain pose, is when you stand at the front of a yoga mat with your feet hip width apart and your arms at your sides. Gaze forward, spread your toes, and make sure your balance is evenly distributed between both feet.[119]
- Make sure to engage your abdominals and lightly pull your sacrum toward the ground, which is sometimes referred to as engaging your root lock or mula bandha.[120]
- Inhale and exhale evenly through your nose. If you can, make a slight sound like the sea when you breathe. This is called ujayyi breathing and can help you flow through your downward dog more effectively.[121]
- Raise your prayer hands into an upward salute. Inhale and raise your hands towards the ceiling in an upward salute, which is also called urdhva hastasana.[122] Gently arch your back as you look up towards your hands.
- For a variation on this position, you can hook your thumbs in front of your body and raise your attached arms so that they end up by your ears. Hooking your thumbs may also help you enter a light backbend while pulling your sacrum towards the floor.
- Make sure to completely extend your elbows and reach up through your fingers towards the ceiling. Only tip your head back slightly, making sure not to compress your cervical spine.[123]
- Do this without hunching your shoulders and make sure to keep your chest and heart area open.[124]
- You can take a slight backbend in urdhva hastasana, which is easiest to do by simply pulling down your sacrum, or tailbone.[125]
- Exhale and hinge into standing forward bend. Exhale and "plunge" into standing forward bend, which is also called uttanasana.[126]
- It's important to keep your back straight and hinge forward at your waist as you transition from upward salute (urdhva hastasana) to standing forward bend (uttanasana). It may help you to remember to keep your heart open.[127]
- Plant your palms flat on the floor next to either foot. Your fingers should point forward and be fully spread apart so that your entire palm is pressing into the floor, which will make it easier to flow into the following asanas.
- It's important to keep your abs engaged and in contact with your thighs.[128] If necessary, bend your knees to keep this contact.
- If your palms don't reach the floor, put them on blocks so that your entire hand is pressing into the floor.[129]
- If you used the alternative pose with hooked thumbs, bring your attached arms over your head before placing your hands on the floor in uttanasana.
- Inhale and extend your spine into standing half forward bend. Gently inhale and extend your spine into a standing half forward bend, which is also called ardha uttanasana. This position will make it easier for you to enter the following asanas.
- Make sure to keep your spine straight as you extend halfway upward. You'll also want to keep your palms firmly planted on the floor next to your feet.[130]
- Make sure to keep your abs engaged while you're in this position.[131]
- Exhale and extend into a right-legged lunge. Keeping your palms firmly on the floor, exhale and extend your right leg into a lunge position. This is a transition pose, or asana, and will help you more effectively and smoothly flow through the remaining asanas in Surya Namaskar B.[132]
- It's important to make sure that your palms are firmly planted on the ground in this pose so that you can easily get into the next asana.
- Push through your right heel for stability.[133]
- Pick up the left leg and end up in downward facing dog. In the same exhale as your right-legged lunge, pick up your left leg towards your chest and extend it back. Hinging at your hips, end up with both legs in downward facing dog.[134]
- Push your sitting bones towards the ceiling. You should end up in an inverted "V" position, which is downward facing dog, or adho mukha savasana in Sanskrit.[135] This position should feel calming and allow you to rest as you get deeper into the vinyasa, or series.
- Keep your palms pressing flat against the floor and your abs engaged.[136]
- Roll your shoulders down your back and arms inward so the eyes of your elbows are facing one another.[137]
- You can keep your gaze towards your navel, but make sure you're head is hanging comfortably.[138]
- Inhale and hinge forward to plank pose. From downward dog, inhale and hinge forward at your hips into plank pose, which is called kumbhakasana.[139] Your shoulders should be over your hands and your heels pushing back in plank pose, which resembles a high push up position.[140]
- Make sure to keep your abs engaged and spine long. Don't pop your bum up.[141]
- You shouldn't need to adjust your body position when you hinge from adho mukhasavasana to plank pose. Your body is perfectly aligned to have you end up in the right position.
- Your feet should be hip width apart and flexed.[142]
- Exhale and lower to ashtanga namaskar. Take a breathe out and lower yourself into knees, chest and chin pose, or ashtanga namaskar. You'll first lower your knees, then your chest, and then your chin to the ground.[143]
- It's easiest to get into this position by keeping the energy moving forward. To do this, slightly push off of your toes and place your chest between your hands with your hips raised.[144] This may also ensure that you're getting a good backbend out of this asana.
- Keep your elbows tucked close to your sides, which may make it easier to slide your chest and chin forward.
- Inhale and push forward into cobra pose. Take a breath in and push your chest forward through your hands into cobra pose, or jangasana. Pull your shoulders back and lift your chest and gaze slightly.[145]
- Use the flex of your feet to push your chest forward into cobra. Your ribs should still be on the floor and your hands and elbows close to your sides.[146]
- Once you're in cobra, place the tops of your feet on the floor.[147]
- This is a light backbend and drawing your shoulders down may help you more comfortably enter the asana.
- Exhale and roll over your toes into downward facing dog. Breathe out and roll back over your toes so that your body ends up in an inverted "V" shape, which is downward facing dog or adho mukha savasana in Sanskrit. This position should feel calming and allow you to rest as you get deeper into the asana, or pose.[148]
- Keep your palms pressing flat against the floor and your abs engaged.[149]
- Roll your shoulders down your back and arms inward so the eyes of your elbows are facing one another.[150]
- Your toes may not be flexible enough to allow you to roll over them. If this is the case, modify the pose by picking up your feet and placing the backs on the floor.
- Your heels may or may not touch the floor, depending on how flexible your lower back, hamstrings, and calf muscles are. The more you practice, the easier it will be to get your heels to the floor.[151]
- Keep lifting your sitting bones towards the ceiling.[152]
- You can keep your gaze towards your navel, but make sure you're head is hanging comfortably.[153]
- Inhale and exhale steadily for 5 breaths and then prepare to end the sun salutation.[154]
- Inhale and lunge your right and then your left leg forward. You're almost done with this round of sun salutations. Taking a breath in, lunge your right foot forward followed immediately by your left.
- Exhale and fold forward into uttanasana. In order to finish the sun salutation, you need to end up in tadasana.[155] Hinging forward completely, exhale and fold completely forward into standing forward bend, or uttanasana. You're almost done with your first round of surya namaskar C!
- Inhale and rise into an upward salute. You're ready to come full circle like the sun. Inhale and rise up radiantly by bringing your prayer hands towards the ceiling in urdhva hastasana.[156] Gently arch your back as you look up towards your hands.
- Remember to keep your spine straight as you rise into urdhva hastasana.[157]
- If you did the arm variation at the beginning with hooked fingers, make sure to do that as you end, too.
- Exhale and return to tadasana. Bring your prayer hands back to your sides as you exhale and return to tadasana. Take a minute or two to enjoy the heart-opening effects and energizing effects of surya namaskar.[158]
- You can do as many more sun salutations as you like to help yourself warm up.
EditThings You'll Need - Yoga mat
- Comfortable clothing
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| How to Live With Someone That Has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (O.C.D.) Posted: 19 Mar 2017 01:00 AM PDT Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with a certain aspect of live they feel is dangerous, life threatening, embarrassing, or condemning. A loved one's OCD can often influence communal living spaces, daily routines, and the practicalities of everyday life. Learn to cope with someone who has OCD by recognizing the signs, developing supportive interactions, and taking time for yourself. EditLiving Everyday Life with Your Loved One - Avoid enabling behaviors. A family member or loved one with OCD can heavily influence the household atmosphere and schedule. It is just as important to know which behaviors reduce anxiety but enable the cycle of OCD to continue.[1] It is tempting for family members to participate or allow rituals to continue. By accommodating your loved one in these ways, you are perpetuating their cycle of fear, obsession, anxiety, and compulsion.
 - In fact, research has shown that accommodating the person's request to comply with rituals or alter routines actually produces worse presentations of symptoms of OCD. [2]
- Some rituals that you may need to avoid enabling include: answering repeated questions, reassuring the person about his fears, allowing the person to dictate seating at the dinner table, or asking others to perform certain things several times before serving food.[3] It is easy to fall into this enabling behavior, because the rituals and behaviors are seen as harmless.[4]
- However, if the enabling has been going on for a long time, suddenly stopping all ritual involvement and reassurance may be too abrupt.[5] Inform the person you will be decreasing your involvement in their rituals, then create a limit for how many times a day you will help with rituals.[6] Then slowly reduce this number until you are no longer a participant.[7]
- It may be helpful for you to keep an observation journal, noting when symptoms seem to come up or worsen. This is especially helpful if the family member with OCD is a child.
- Keep your regular schedule. Though it's a stress point for this person and it'll be difficult not to succumb to his desires, it's important that you and others around this person continue life as normal. Instead, come up with a family agreement that your loved one's condition will not alter the family routines or schedules. Make sure that your loved one knows you are there to support him, and you see that his distress is real, but you will not support his disorder.[8][9]
- Request that your loved one limit OCD behaviors to certain areas of the house. If your loved one needs to engage in certain OCD behaviors, suggest that these happen in certain rooms. Keep communal rooms free from OCD behaviors. For example, if your loved one needs to check that the windows are locked, suggest that he does this in the bedroom and bathroom, but not in the living room or kitchen.[10]
- Help distract your loved one from their thoughts. When your loved one is faced with the urge to engage in compulsive behavior, you can help by offering some type of distraction such as going for a walk, or listening to music.[11]
- Don't label or blame the person for his OCD. Try to avoid labeling your loved one as his OCD condition. Avoid blaming or chastising your loved one when his behavior becomes frustrating or overwhelming. This is not productive for your relationship or for your loved one's health.[12]
- Create a supportive environment for your loved one. Regardless of how you feel about the OCD, you need to be encouraging. Ask your family member about his specific fear, obsession, and compulsion. Ask him how you can help him decrease his symptom (outside of complying with his rituals). Explain in a calm voice that the compulsions are a symptom of the OCD and tell him that you won't participate in the compulsions. This gentle reminder may be just what he needs to resist the compulsions this time, which can lead to more instances where he is able to resist them.
- This is very different than accommodating your loved one. Being supportive does not mean allowing the behaviors. It means holding the person accountable in a supportive way and offering a hug when he needs it.[13]
- Involve your loved one in decisions. It's important that your loved one feels involved in decisions that are made about his OCD. This is especially true for a child with OCD. Talk with your loved one to find out if he wants to tell his teachers about his OCD, for example. [14]
- Celebrate small steps. Overcoming OCD can be a difficult road. When your loved one makes small improvements, congratulate him. Even if it seems like a small step, such as not checking the lights before bed, your loved one is making improvements.[15]
- Learn ways to reduce stress in the household. Many times, family members become involved in a loved one's rituals in an attempt to reduce the person's distress or to avoid confrontation.[16] Reduce stress by encouraging your family to learn relaxation techniques, such as yoga, mindful meditation, or deep breathing.[17] Encourage them to exercise, adopt healthy eating habits, and get adequate sleep, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.[18]
EditTaking Care of Yourself - Find a support group. Find support for yourself in a group setting or through family therapy. Groups for people who have loved ones with a mental health condition can provide you with support for your frustrations as well as further education about OCD.[19][20]
- Consider family therapy. Family therapy can be helpful in that the therapist can educate you on your loved one's OCD as well as make a plan to help bring balance back to the family system.[21]
- Family therapy looks at the family system and evaluates relationships between family members in an effort to understand which behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs are contributing the presenting problem.[22] For OCD, this may be examining which family members are helpful in reducing anxiety, which are unhelpful, which times of day are most difficult for your loved one with OCD and for other members of the family and why.
- Your therapist can also offer suggestions about behaviors that will not reinforce rituals, and what to do instead that is specific to your loved one's situation.
- Take time away from your loved one. Give yourself time away from your loved one to relax.[23] Sometimes worrying about your loved one's condition can make you feel as though you have OCD as well. Time away from your loved one can give you a moment of relaxation and recentering in order to be better prepared to deal with the stressors of your loved one's anxiety and behaviors.[24]
- Plan outings with friends once a week to give you a short reprieve away from your loved one. Or, find your own space at home in which you can relax. Squirrel yourself away in your bedroom to catch up on a book, or carve out time for a bubble bath when your loved one is out of the house.
- Pursue your own interests. Don't get so wrapped up in your loved one's OCD that you forget to pursue the things that you enjoy. In any relationship, it's important to have your own interests separate from the other person, and when you are dealing with someone's OCD, it's especially important to have your own outlets.[25]
- Remind yourself that your own feelings are normal. Remember that feeling overwhelmed, angry, anxious, or confused about your loved one's condition is very normal. OCD is a tricky condition and often produce confusion and frustration for all involved. It is helpful to remember to aim these frustrations and feeling at the condition itself and not the person you love.[26] Although his behavior and anxiety can become irritating and overwhelming, remind yourself that your loved one is not OCD. He is much more. Be sure to separate this for yourself in order to prevent conflict or bitterness toward your loved one.
EditSuggesting Professional Help for Your Loved One - Suggest that your loved one get a diagnosis. Getting an official diagnosis can help your loved one deal with the disorder and begin to treat it. Start with the person's physician, who will perform a complete physical, lab tests, and a psychological evaluation.[27] Having obsessive thoughts or exhibiting compulsive behaviors doesn't mean you have OCD. To have this disorder, you need to be in a state of distress where the thoughts and compulsions interfere with your life. To be diagnosed with OCD, there must be a presence of obsessions or compulsions or both. The following are signs that must be met for a professional diagnosis:[28]
- Obsessions include thoughts or urges that never go away. They are also unwelcome and intrude on everyday life. These obsessions can cause significant distress.
- Compulsions are behaviors or thoughts that an individual repeats over and over. This can include compulsions such as hand-washing or counting. The individual feels that he or she must comply with certain rigid rules that are self-imposed. These compulsions are enacted in order to reduce anxiety or in hopes of preventing something from happening. Typically the compulsions are unreasonable and ineffective at actually reducing anxiety or prevention.
- Obsessions and compulsions are usually performed more than one hour per day or otherwise intrude on daily functioning.
- Encourage your loved one to see a therapist. OCD is a very complex condition, and it is one that often requires professional help in the form of therapy and medications. It is important to encourage your loved one to seek help for their OCD from a therapist. One method of therapy that can be very helpful in treating OCD is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). A therapist will use this method to help individuals change how the perceived risks and challenge the reality of their fears.
- CBT helps people with OCD examine their perceptions of potential risk which influence their obsessions, to build a more realistic perception of their fear. Additionally, CBT helps to examine the individual's interpretation of their intrusive thoughts, because it is often the amount of importance they place on these thoughts and how they interpret them that causes anxiety.
- CBT has been shown to be helpful to 75% of clients with OCD.[29]
- Look into exposure and response prevention treatment. One portion of cognitive behavioral therapy can help reduce ritual behavior and come up alternative behaviors when exposed to the fears image, thought, or situation. This portion of CBT is called Exposure Response Prevention.[30]
- This type of treatment gradually exposes the individual to what he fears or obsesses over while refraining from acting on compulsions.[31] During this process, the individual learns to cope with and manage their anxiety until it eventually does not induce anxiety at all.
- Suggest medication for your loved one. Medications used to treat OCD include different types of antidepressants[32] such as SSRIs, which help to increase the available amount of serotonin in the brain in order to reduce anxiety.
EditRecognizing OCD - Look for signs of OCD. OCD manifests in thoughts, and these thoughts play out in a person's behavior. If you suspect someone you care about has OCD, look for the following:[33]
- Large blocks of unexplained time that the person is spending alone (in the bathroom, getting dressed, doing homework, etc.)
- Doing things again and again (repetitive behaviors)
- Constant questioning of self-judgment; excessive need for reassurance
- Simple tasks taking an effort
- Perpetual tardiness
- Increased concern for minor things and details
- Extreme, unnecessary emotional reactions to small things
- Inability to sleep properly
- Staying up late to get things done
- A significant change in eating habits
- Increased irritability and indecisiveness
- Understand what obsessions are. Obsessions can be about fears of contamination, fears of being harmed by another person, fears of by persecuted by God or other religious leaders because of thoughts that contain unwanted images such as sexual images or thought that would be blasphemous. The fear is what drives OCD, even if the fear is unlikely with low risk, people with OCD are still very much afraid.[34]
- This fear creates anxiety[35] which drives compulsions, and the person with OCD uses compulsions as a way to pacify or control their anxiety caused by their obsession.
- Learn what compulsions are. Compulsions are usually acts or behaviors such as saying a certain prayer a certain amount of times, or checking the stove repeatedly, or checking the locks on the house a certain number of times.
- Understand the types of OCD. When most of us think of this disorder, we think of those who wash their hands 30 times before leaving the bathroom or those who switch the light on and off exactly 17 times before bed. In actuality, OCD rears its head in many different ways:[36]
- People with a washing compulsion are afraid of contamination and usually wash their hands frequently.
- People who check things repeatedly (oven turned off, door locked, etc.) tend to associate everyday objects with harm or danger.
- People with a strong feeling of doubt or sin may expect that terrible things will happen and they might even be punished.
- People who are obsessed with order and symmetry often have superstitions about numbers, colors, or arrangements.
- People with a tendency to hoard things may be afraid that something bad will happen if they throw even the smallest thing away. Everything from trash to old receipts gets saved.
- Be patient with your loved one. Be supportive, but remember not to let the person with OCD continue to develop new "patterns" by having identical daily routines. Help him to become more independent, and show him that he has the ability to change.
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