Is it possible for a lay person to bring instantaneous concentration within a few moments? I’m a student who has alot of noise in my mind. To stop this noise I need to concentrate. I will be giving a lot of examinations in the coming months which will decide my future. These tests are reasoning tests and i need to apply my full concentration for a long period of about 3 hours. Which ways can I try to achieve full concentration????  thanks, student

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We saw this blog post by Michael Smith, writing in Prana Journal. Smith writes about a recent article in Time Magazine entitled When Yoga Hurts. Smith notes that the article seems to be part of a ‘backlash’ against ‘trendy yoga’.

The Time article mentions research by the American Council on Exercise showing that Yoga does not provide much cardiovascular benefit, and therefore does not do much to strengthen the heart. The article also mentions that thousands of people have been injured in Yoga classes.

If the foundations of physical fitness and athletic performance are understood to be strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, agility, and speed, then it is clear that yoga asana practice alone (as it is practiced in most yoga classes) will not improve all of these, though it does help a great deal with strength, flexibility, and balance. Yoga can also help improve posture and body awareness.

We like what Smith says, though Yoga may not be the perfect form of exercise, it’s “a lot better than no exercise at all.”

Puran & Susanna