Yoga Health Secrets

Yoga for menstrual cramps, menopause, and disorders

Viparita-Karani is very much a beauty treatment for it supplies the skin with an extra amount of blood and so prevents and smooths away untimely wrinkles. This natural beauty treatment is said by some to be worth far more than the costly facial massages in beauty salons which are so beloved of film stars.

Before I go on to your next exercise I would mention here that the CAMEL POSTURE or UTRASANA described in chapter six in connection with backache should also be practised by women suffering from displacement of the uterus and fallopian tubes provided that the displacement is not of a serious order. If you find the Camel too strenuous, try this similar but slightly easier asana which is called CHAKRASANA or the WHEEL POSTURE. Some of the variations of Chakrasana are only within the scope of the most advanced student of Hatha Yoga, but this one is quite easy for beginners.

1. Assume a kneeling position with your knees slightly apart. Inhale deeply and at the same time bend slowly backwards, at the same time raising your buttocks.

2. As you complete your inhalation grasp your ankles and remain thus for as long as you comfortably can without exhaling.

3. When the impulse to exhale appears do so and at the same time slowly return to the starting position. Twice a day is enough at first for this posture but you can gradually increase the number up to six. Lie down and relax after this exercise, and take a few deep recovery breaths.

To end this chapter I will describe a series of slow and graceful movements which incorporate much of what I have described in this chapter. For the busy housewife and mother who has little time to spare, these movements act as a time-saving beauty treatment, a toning up of nerves and muscles, and above all a means of relieving her internal disorders. These movements include the Shoulderstand, the Leg-raising Pose (Udhitta Padasana), Viparita-Karani, and the Plough Posture, and we will call this series of seven movements YOGA IN SLOW MOTION.