This is a short video that is simple and easy to do.

Success in Self-Healing, like All Success in Yoga, comes from learning to relax in a position and come within.

As you progress and become better at this, stay in the pose for longer periods of time.

Not motivated enough to practice?

Do you think this doesn’t work?

Check out these related articles:

Heal Your Back Now!

How Alida Overcame the Pain and Spinal Misalignment of Scoliosis 

Comment by Aron B on my About page

And, of course, you can always practice these VIDEO Clips:

Self-Heal Your Back Pain Yoga VIDEO Pt 1 

Self-Heal Your Back Pain Yoga VIDEO Pt 2

Do you have the urge to comment? Look below.

If you spend much time at all sitting, you will enjoy the wonderful feeling that comes when you loosen up your back with this Seated Spinal Twist.

This video clip is less than 5 minutes long. 

If you feel like you don’t have this much time, consider that once you learn this, you can get benefit and enjoyment in a less- than-2-minutes twist.

The Spinal Twist Loosens up the Back and Spine, Improves Flexibility and Circulation, Removes Fatigue, Relaxes Muscle Pain and Tension, Refreshes the Mind, and Always Feels Good.

If this twist makes you feel better, why not try out some of the other FREE Videos Clips on this site?

They are of great benefit since they specifically help to alleviate many of the negative effects of the sedentary lifestyle that is so prevalent in modern living.

The Good News: These videos are Very Easy to Do, and they Feel So Good.

Most of the video clips are from my Easy Yoga for Home, Office & Studio DVD.

This video clip will give you some simple exercises to improve the health of your Shoulders, Hands, Fingers, Wrists, Upper Back, and Chest.

If you spend a lot of time on a computer, drive a car, paint, make jewelry,  sculpt, or work at any other kind of repetitive task, you probably experience tension, fatigue, and maybe some pain as a result of the overuse of a part of your body.

Practicing these techniques can help to prevent and reverse Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI).

This only takes a few minutes of your time, but can make a big difference in how much better you will feel.

Remember: The Key to Success in this, and any other yoga practice, is in the doing. Practice.

Practice Frequently for best results.

This video is a clip from my 70 minute DVD, Easy Yoga for Home, Office & Studio.

News for those of you in Mexico who use Telmex Prodigy Infinitum as your internet service provider (ISP): Telmex has finally unblocked your access to my two USA parked websites,  www.YogaNorman.com  and my blog at  www.slyoga.com  and it has only taken them four months to correct the problem. So if you are using Telmex for your internet service, you can now go onto my sites once again.

If you are wondering how I can live in Mexico and tolerate waiting four months to get a problem solved by the telephone company, my answer is “At least I didn’t shovel any snow this winter.”

Namaste’……..Norm

In this free video you will learn how circulation works and how easy it is to improve your circulation.

Then you will be guided into some simple, easy-to-do exercises that will give you the experience of improved circulation.

Try it. Get a feel for it. Then experiment to create your own exercises.

Have problems with you knees or neck? Do you want to improve circulation, range of motion, and relax them?

Check out these videos, which are part of the same class:

Knee Healing Video

Heal Your Neck Now! Video

Hopefully, in watching and practicing with these free videos, you will get an idea of how circulation works. Then let yourself get creative and invent some movements on your own.

If you find it difficult to design your own exercises, you can always buy my Easy Yoga for Home, Office, & Studio DVD from which these video clips are taken. When you do this, you will be helping to keep this website going.

Thank you & Namaste’,

Norm

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Please feel free to ask questions and make comments below, which will require you to sign in with your name and email address in order to prevent spam comments. Your email will not be posted on this blog nor will it ever be sold or otherwise distributed without your permission. I dislike spam as much as you do…Norm

Whether you have been suffering from chronic pain for years, or whether you just want to loosen up your neck some, these simple movements can help you.

In my yoga classes over the years,  I have helped hundreds of students improve flexibility, increase range of motion, reduce pain, and heal their necks with this technique.

Note: If you have a lot of pain, move very slowly and gently in a way that increases your range of motion without aggravating the condition.

This video was shot in a my studio in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico so you may hear some church bells along with traffic noises in the background and maybe a cat or dog, all of which are very indicative of what it is like to be in downtown San Miguel.

This video clip is taken from my DVD,  Easy Yoga for Home, Office & Studio, which also includes similar movements designed to improve circulation, reduce pain, and promote healing for the eyes and all of the joints.

Feel free to comment below and please let me know what other topics you would like covered on this blog.

Here is a tip that I got from one of my students years ago before CDs when my students bought audio cassette tapes from me.

This is so brilliant that I  wonder why I hadn’t thought of it first. (Maybe I didn’t think of it because it is so brilliant.)

This student was in her late 50s or early 60s and this is what she told me.

What I Do When I Am Too Tired to Do Yoga

I work in New York City and I have to get up at 6 AM every morning to get ready to go to work. I commute in to the city, work very hard, and then commute back without so much as a half hour rest.

By the time I get home from work, it is already dark and I am completely exhausted. In fact, I am so tired that I don’t want to do anything but just sit on my sofa. I am too tired to eat and too tense to sleep. I don’t want to go anywhere or even watch TV. I am whipped. In fact I am so tired that  I  feel that I don’t have enough energy to do yoga. Truth of the matter is I feel that I have a perfect excuse not to do yoga. I am numb. It is not even like I will do something else and might have a conflict about why I can do that but I can’t do yoga. In short, I feel perfectly justified in not doing yoga in my present drained-of-all-strength-and-energy  state.

So here is what I do.

I keep your Yoga Class tape ready in my tape player.

And I tell myself, “All you have to do is press the PLAY button.”

This usually creates resistance in the logical part of me and the rationalizations begin.

My “do good” part tells my mind that there are many benefits of yoga and it would be good to do the tape even in this exhausted state.

My rebellious side says, “Shut up! I am too tired.”

How I Overcome Resistance to Practice Yoga

These kinds of arguments could go on for sometime if it were not for the wisdom part of me which says, “Just press the button. You don’t have to do the yoga postures if you feel that you are too tired. Just press the PLAY button.”

This immediately triggers more resistance, but the wisdom part of me just repeats, “Just press the button. Just press the button, just press the button.” To all arguments and great logic, Intuitive Wisdom says, “JUST PRESS THE BUTTON. Don’t do the yoga practice, if you don’t want to. JUST PRESS PLAY. Surely you are not too weak to just press PLAY. If you are too weak to just press PLAY, you might as well just give up and quit your job, too, since you are not going to make it anyway.”

So I press PLAY, the tape starts, I hear your voice, I’ve been conditioned to follow your instructions, and more often than 9 times out of 10 I end up doing the whole hour long class. And guess what? At the end of the class I feel more relaxed and more energized then I did at the beginning. I’m not tired anymore.

I have been doing this long enough that there is very little resistance now. Sometimes I decide ahead of time that I really am so tired that I won’t do the tape, but I go ahead and press the PLAY button anyway. Sometimes I don’t start right at the beginning, but almost always, I join the class soon and finish the routine.

More Tips Coming

So there you have it. Tip #1. You can never be too tired to do yoga, because when you do yoga correctly, it will relax and energize you.

I will be giving more tips like this from time to time here. In the meantime do you have any tricks or techniques that help you to do your practice that you would like to share with others? Please comment. Remember helping others creates good karma for you.

Namaste’, …….Norm

How Carol Healed Herself of a 20 Year Affliction with Fibromyalgia

April 1995: Carol, a visitor to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, from  New York, came to see me and asked if I thought that yoga would help her. She said that she had been suffering from Fibromyalgia and Insomnia for twenty years. She said that she was in constant pain and was unable to do even simple activities.

“Yes, practicing hatha yoga will help you,” I told her, “but you need to come to class every day.”

“I can’t come every day,” she said. “That would be too much activity.”

“If you want to heal yourself, you need to be here five days a week. Surely you can do that.”

‘But you don’t understand!” Her eyes teared. “If I take the class today, it will be a week before I have enough energy to take another class.”

“No, you don’t understand,” I said firmly. “My guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, said that there is enough energy in each person to last several thousand years. The only way that you can not have energy is by giving up. We are not going to try to get you more energy. We are just going to remove the blocks to the energy that is already within you.”

Friday, April 7, 1995, 7:45am: Carol started hatha yoga classes five mornings a week. I knew that she was in a lot of pain and that everything was very difficult for her. I told her that even if she did just the breathing and relaxation, she would be making progress.

One day I found her sitting cross legged on the floor crying. “What’s the matter? Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, nothing happened,” she said. “It hurts just to sit here?”

“Hang in there. Just show up every day and do what you want of the class. Give it time. You’ll see.” I never pushed Carol to do the postures. The only thing I pushed her to do was to attend classes. I knew that the yoga class environment alone would help her, and I was determined not to lose her. After twenty years going downhill in pain, this might be her last chance.

Little by little Carol was loosening up, relaxing better, and at times feeling less pain. And as she said, “Maybe I’m sleeping a little better and walking a little easier.”

I had encouraged Carol to walk to class and back. But when I suggested that she now attend two yoga classes a day, she lost it. “Now I know that you are nuts! How in the world am I going to do that? I’ve just barely been  able to make it to every morning class. What happens if I am too weak to walk back to my place?”

“You can take a cab. Here in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a cab is only a dollar.”

Do the Yoga and You Won’t Be Tired

I explained to Carol that practicing Hatha Yoga correctly means feeling energized not fatigued. Unlike getting in shape to play football, Yoga is more like learning to type or play a musical instrument: The more frequently you practice, the sooner you develop the skill. The more frequently she practiced, the more energy she would have.

“But what if I am too tired to do the Yoga?” she said.

I answered, “Do the Yoga and you won’t be tired.”

Carol had been taking an afternoon art class and had used that as an excuse for not coming to the afternoon class as well as the morning one. Now the art school had a two week spring break.

April 18, 1995:  Carol finally gave in and attended the 5 pm class the second week of the spring break. And guess what? She had a big advancement in her progress.

The Only Limitations We Have Are The Ones We Put on Ourselves

While I am always looking for opportunities to introduce students to the mental and spiritual aspects of Yoga, I felt that this would be especially helpful to Carol because of the enormous challenge she faced in her twenty year losing battle with the physical pain and insomnia of Fibromyalgia.

I was very happy to find Carol receptive to the spiritual teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. I gave her some things by him to read and she began attending our meditation meetings and readings.

One day when Carol asked, “What if I just don’t have what it takes to conquer this Fibromyalgia illness?”

I said to her, “I want you to think about this, to really think about it. Turn it over in your mind. Try not to be critical or argue against it, but just keep hearing it and repeating it. Paramahansa Yogananda says that the only limitations we have are what we put on ourselves. The Spirit of God is within each one of us. So you, Carol, the only limitations that you have are the ones that you choose to have. You can just as well choose not to have any.”

I suggested that she read Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, and if she liked that she should consider signing up for the home study lessons from Paramahansa Yogananda’s organization, Self-Realization Fellowship.

May 15: Carol had her last class. I told her that she now had some indication of the direction she needed to go in. She had some momentum but the value of that would really be realized by her regular, daily and continued practice of yoga. Carol thanked me, bought one of my yoga tapes and left for her home in New York. I felt that she had gotten a sense of what needed to be done and would do it.

Some time passed and I thought of how wonderful it would be if Carol could conquer her problem.

Fall 1995: I received the following letter from Carol:

Dear Norman__

I think of SM [San Miguel] often & of my experiences there & connecting again, but with a commitment this time, to yoga which has become a part of my daily life. Have gained considerably in strength, endurance & flexibility. Able to do many things like gardening for much longer periods. Pain is no longer part of my day. What a difference! Sometimes I’m doing Yoga the same time as your class – have joined a class here. Keeps me going…

Am reading Auto of a Yogi [Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda] & and have started the teachings [Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons]. Fascinating life he led. Also reading the life of Alesandra David-Neel, a Frenchwoman, who, in the 20′s, was the first European woman to enter LLasa in Tibet. What a journey she was on! She entered Llasa as a beggar. Studied with many lamas.

I’ve not made any definite plans to return to SM [San Miguel] – no opportunities yet. But I know I’ll return in the winter, if not before.

Hope all is well with you & your family – I miss the group [Yogananda Meditation Group] on Sundays. I think of you all.         Fondly, Carol

Of course, this was wonderful news. “Pain is no longer part of my day.” Accomplished in just about six months. If  people only realized! “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” How much unnecessary suffering. But Carol did it. And for me, another affirmation of the power of Yoga and of the tremendous resources within each human being.

Paramahansa Yogananda tells us. But are we listening? Listen. Listen.

But this is not the end of the story.

January 29, 1996, Monday, 7:45 am. Carol Johnstone returned San Miguel and to the yoga class for five weeks.

As Carol stated in her letter she was in much better health and fitness.

Carol was smiling and giggling to herself a lot. I was puzzled. Was I doing something stupid looking? “Carol what’s so funny?”

“Oh, I am just happy. I am not saying that I can do everything easily now, but I remember what it was like when I first came to your class last year and how hard and painful it was just to be here. It is so much easier now.”

“Good.” Carol just kept getting better and better in the class and out of the class.

“Carol, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing to write up your experiences so that they can be used to inspire and guide others. What do you say?”

“Of course, I will. Great idea.”

February 18, 1996:  Carol gave me the following account of her pain, suffering, and healing.

Carol Johnstone’s Recovery from Fibromyalgia

About 20 years ago, I started having difficulties – pain in the knee. burning in the balls of my feet, feet hurt while walking, very achy back and legs, tail bone hurt so much, I had to use a doughnut to sit on for years ( I took it everywhere with me.) I had x-rays of my knee and my tail bone – nothing showed up. After playing tennis, I got a severe case of tennis elbow.

Went to many doctors and later a chiropractor. No one was able to diagnose me or help me. I fatigued very easily and suffered from insomnia. My body hurt, from my neck down through my feet. I was always in pain.  I could not walk more than a couple of blocks without stopping and resting. I could no longer garden, wash windows, vacuum, etc. I was always in pain.

After about 10 years at the advice of a friend I finally went to a rheumatologist and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, an arthritic disease affecting the muscles and connecting tissues.

Found out there is no cure. Symptoms are treated with drugs. Took muscular pain reliever and a sedative to sleep.

Heard about a wellness clinic that knew about Fibromyalgia. Went to it and learned about the disease. Treated with relaxation techniques. They were effective but very short-lived.

The years went by. I finally weaned myself from the drugs because of the side effects and hoped I would feel better (the drugs did take the edge off the symptoms). I ended up depressed and very tired.

Then I came to Mexico last year. I was beginning to feel a bit freer from pain. My muscular system was in poor shape as pain stopped me from exercising – I barely walked, never without pain. I decided that I must try to help myself before I got older as I was worried that my muscles would further deteriorate. Everything I did that was the least bit different would make that muscle hurt more.

I started taking Norman’s yoga class every day thinking that yoga would be the least stress on my muscular system. At the beginning I was very frustrated because my body just would not perform and I could not do any pose (even relaxation) without pain. I persevered. There were times when I was in tears and almost ran out of the room from frustration and pain. I kept up one hour per day for five weeks until I left San Miguel. I had bought Norman’s tape for beginners and continued yoga on my own when I returned home. It paid off.

After nearly a year, I am able to do the poses, not effortless, but pain free. But the quality of my life is amazing. My muscles are toned and my strength and agility have greatly improved – I am able to walk, sometimes a dozen miles a day without discomfort or pain. I can do normal housework, garden for a few hours at a time, even played tennis a bit, pain free. My friends tell me I look and act younger. I continue to attribute the practice of yoga to my good health and will continue on this path, enabling me to better prepare for meditation which I think is the key to the best of health, both physical and mental.

Signed:  Carol Johnstone   2.18.96

P. S. I could not hold any kind of job;  it was impossible. I feel it is important that yoga become part of a person’s daily life to gain the most benefit.

Near the end of her stay, Carol told me how much the Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons had meant to her. “You know my confidence has soared. I really feel like I understand what you told me about Yogananda saying that the only limitations we have are those we put on ourselves. I feel like I can do anything I want now.”

“So what is it you want?”

“I want to keep getting healthier. I want to hike and travel all over. I want to study a lot more about yoga, about Yogananda’s teachings, about the spiritual part of yoga, the most important part of yoga, and I want to keep practicing hatha yoga. And meditation. I know meditation is the most important practice. Yogananda made that so clear.”

March 1, 1996, Friday: By the end of her last class on this trip, Carol was full of energy and happiness. She thanked me and then hugged me and said, “I have a gift for you. My husband came in a few days ago to go back home together.  The last two days my husband and I hiked the canyon from the bottom all the way to the top passed the dam and reservoir.”

What a gift! “Carol, you know, don’t you, that most people even with no medical problems can’t, or won’t, hike that canyon.”

She smiled. “I know. I have no limitations.”

But Wait! This is still not the end of the story. Oh, I know, if I were writing fiction, it had better be with this great ending line. But this is nonfiction meant to educate and inspire so we continue.

May 29, 1996: I received a permission letter from Carol stating, “I give my permission to Norman Popovsky to use Whatever information relating to my health and recovery, written and verbal, in any way he chooses.” Then the following note was attached:

Norman

Sorry I took so long on this _ life is busy for me these days. L__ R__ & I plan to meet in Germany on Saturday morning, both of us on stand-bys, her from LA, me from NYC. Hope we meet without a hitch. I’m weaving chenille scarves for travel money. I’m still doing yoga – never could have managed the loom without it.

Hope all is well with you & your family in SMA. I plan to return in January.

Fondly,

Carol

February 1997: Carol returned to San Miguel de Allende. Right before she returned to class, I ran into her and her husband in Juarez Park as they had just returned from a hike.

Her husband said to me, “You know according to the doctors by now Carol was supposed to be in a wheelchair drinking out of a straw.” Obviously, he was happy with her recovery. Then the smile left his face. “I can’t even keep up with her any more.” He wiped the sweat and dust from his forehead.  “Carol, tell Norman what you did with our daughter.”

Carol smiled. “I hiked seven miles with her at eleven thousand feet elevation.”

He added, “Completely blew our daughter away.”

Carol joined the class for the last three weeks of February stronger than ever and Pain Free.

I know that very few of you are in as bad of condition as Carol was. If she could heal herself, certainly you should be able to.

Don’t you think so?

Q. What can I do about fatigue? It seems that no matter how little I exert myself, nor how much more I rest, I still feel tired. My doctor says I have no medical problems.

It sounds like you might be going in the wrong direction: resting too much and exerting yourself too little.

One of the Biggest Causes of Fatigue Is Lack of Circulation Due to Too Little Activity.

I know that there is a very common tendency to try to rest more when you don’t feel like you have a lot of energy. But if your tiredness is due to poor circulation, you can actually make yourself feel more tired by resting. These conditions can be compounded in modern living where long sedentary periods seated before a TV or computer, or in an automobile during morning and afternoon work commutes, tend to inhibit the natural tendencies of regular physical activity.

Assuming that your doctor is right and that you have no medical problem that is causing your tiredness, consider these other possibilities.

How Overeating Saps Your Energy

Sometimes in an effort to get more energy from food, you may unwittingly develop the habit of overeating. Remember, even healthy food becomes a dross to the body when taken to excess. Overeating puts a tremendous load on the digestive system and causes an imbalance of energy since so much energy is diverted to the digestive organs. This can create such a drain on the other parts of the body that you can feel very tired as your body attempts to deal with the overload of food.

Notice how you feel groggy after a big meal?

Worse yet is the coronary attack that follows when the energy needed for the heart is pulled away to deal with a heavy, hard-to-digest meal.

Too Much Rest Will Slow You Down

Yoga Science teaches that too much sleep makes you lethargic. One reason for this is that lying motionless for a long time causes a decrease in the elimination of waste material due to lessened circulation. That is a reason why the longer you sleep, or lie around, the less flexible you are upon awakening.

Oxygen intake is cut down due to slow, shallow breathing.

Get Your Energy Flowing

To improve this situation, the first thing that most Yogis do in the morning, besides meditating, are techniques to get rid of waste material and to increase circulation, oxygen, and flexibility. In other words, they prepare their bodies to behave like open conduits for the free, unobstructed flow of energy.

Improve Your Flexibility

If you lack flexibility, it is difficult for energy to flow easily. Because stiffness limits the range of motion of your body, circulation decreases. which increases your stiffness, which further slows your circulation, and on and on in vicious downward cycle. As your circulation slows so does the ability of your body to eliminate toxins, which in turn slows the free flow of nutrients to the cells. When toxins are not completely eliminated, deposits form in your joints, organs, glands, and blood vessels, and your flexibility diminishes.

How Hatha Yoga Asanas Will Help You

To combat this problem the yogis discovered Hatha Yoga, a unique system of Asanas (Postures or Poses) designed to improve circulation, energy flow, flexibility, and eliminations.

What makes Hatha Yoga such an efficient system is that all these benefits come about without the production of a large amount of waste byproduct, as happens in most other forms of exercise. If this waste material is not eliminated, your muscles will feel sore later.

When you do exercises of such a nature or in such a way that your muscles ache the next day, you will find it difficult to improve flexibility. In fact, many runners find that the more they run, the stiffer they become.

On the other hand, when you practice Hatha Yoga correctly, you will find a steady improvement in flexibility, eliminations, circulation, energy, and strength, with a minimum amount of effort, regardless of your age or present condition.

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Please feel free to ask questions and make comments below, which will require you to sign in with your name and email address in order to prevent spam comments. Your email will not be posted on this blog nor will it ever be sold or otherwise distributed without your permission. I dislike spam as much as you do…Norm

I very much would like to hear from those of you whose success with Yoga might inspire others.