Ask Yogi Dr. Malik - your own advice guru
June 2008
I find that about 3
every afternoon my
energy levels get really
low. Are there any
poses that can give
them a little boost?
Are you feeling down? Could it be that you’re having a heavy fatty
lunch which tires you out at this time? Have you had a good look at
your diet? Eating oily, greasy, or sweet foods always tire the body out and
deplete energy. If you want to pep yourself up for the afternoon, try some
outdoor walking for at least 15 minutes. Try some pranayama (kapal bhathi)
– this is an excellent pick-me-up. If you want some yoga exercises and don’t
mind getting a bit sweaty, then try the triangle (trikonasana), warrior (virabhadrasana)
and bridge (setu bandhasana).
I have recently lost weight but I still
have a little overhang on my waist
when I wear trousers. Can you
suggest any poses to get rid of it?
If you are healthy and not overweight, it doesn’t matter if you have a bit
extra around the waist. However, you can use some exercises to tone the
area up: wheel (chakrasana), triangle (trikonasana) and bow (dhanurasana). These
are wonderful asanas that help firm and strengthen the muscles of the stomach
and keep your waist in tip-top condition. Eating a low-fat diet should also help.
Lately, when I go
into certain poses
my joints have been
making “cracking”
sounds. Am I
performing the
poses wrong, or is
my body just getting
old? Do you have
any suggestions for
how to stretch to
prevent this? Also,
are these sounds
caused by permanent
damages?
I’m unsure where the “cracking”
sounds are coming from.
Sometimes when we leave our body
unchecked it can make sounds when we
make it do new things. In any event I
advise you to get an x-ray as you may have
an internal injury, especially if the sounds
are accompanied with pain. Try relaxing in
a hot bath, or take a sauna for a few days.
Your body may be stressed and this sometimes
manifests in the joints.
Varicose veins
run in my family
and I am worried
about getting them.
Will yoga help
prevent this?
There is no scientific evidence to
prove that yoga can help prevent
varicose veins. However, it is known that
yoga is an excellent form of exercise to
strengthen the veins in the body. Veins
carry blood back from the leg to the
heart. Try exercises that work on
strengthening the legs and the muscles
there. Start practising yoga early in life
to help prevent exacerbating the condition
of varicose veins.
I suffer from high
blood pressure and
am looking for
alternative ways to
medicate it. Is yoga
helpful for this at
all?
I don’t recommend you change
your existing medication immediately,
but I do advise you to practise
yoga. Try savasana and padmasana. You
can combine both exercises with hand
mudras and pranayama exercises.
Occasionally I
get a sharp pain in
my right hip that I
can’t get rid of. Are
there any yoga
postures you can
suggest to stop the
pain?
 I suggest that you see your doctor
to determine what is causing
the pain. The answer depends on the
type and frequency of your pain. Is it
intermittent or constant? Is it concentrated
in one spot or over the whole hip
area? Often a pain experienced in one
part of the body can be attributed to a
problem originating in another. These
questions need to be addressed before a
proper analysis can be given. Hip pains
are also associated with genealogical conditions
but can also be caused by
osteoarthritis, injuries or even stress.
Yoga can be used to complement medical
healthcare and there are certain yoga
exercises that are excellent for opening
and strengthening the hips, including
plough (halasana), wind freeing pose
(pavanamuktasana), bridge (setu bandhasana)
and locust (purnashalabhasana).
These exercises strengthen not only the
hips, but also the abdomen and the
spine.
I want to brush
up on my yoga
philosophy. Are
there any books
that you can recommend
to improve
my knowledge?
Sages and yogis throughout the
ages have spent their whole lives
grappling with yoga philosophy and
thankfully left us a rich collection of
works which continue to fascinate practitioners
and academics alike. I can’t recommend
one title that would definitely
brush up your yoga philosophy, but I
would recommend that you read around
the subject of yoga widely. Most good
bookshops stock yoga books appealing to
a variety of audiences. Often, you may
see the word “philosophy” on the cover,
but use your common sense and browse
through books relating to jnana yoga,
meditation and related subjects.
Write to:
Ask Yogi Dr Malik
Yoga Magazine
26 York Street
London
W1U 6PZ
editor@yogamagazine.co.uk
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