Yoga: Far More Than a 5,000-Year Old Trend
By Merilee Kern
While riding the bike at the gym last week, I was doing my best to have my iPod drown out the incessant chatter of a guy and gal next to me. During the course of their very long, and loud, conversation, I heard the man made an interesting comment in response to the women’s far too detailed description of the fitness classes she had signed up for, which included yoga. He said, “I figured yoga was just a trendy pastime disguised as exercise.” Oh how I wanted to let him know that couldn’t be farther from the truth, but figured it best to keep peddling lest I spend the rest of my precious cardio time chatting when I should be breathing.
When many think of yoga, images of zoned-out new-agers in pretzel-like positions chanting mantras, may come to mind, but consider this: Yoga is an ancient practice that can help you deal with the stress of modern life. It has been reported that more than six million Americans are now practicing some form of yoga to increase stamina and endurance among other physical and emotional health benefits. And, it’s far more than just a trend. After all, yoga is over 5,000 years old and still going strong.
According to findings by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) that looked at 34 non-active women in their thirties doing Hatha yoga, which is considered one of the easiest forms of yoga to learn, they discovered the women vastly improved their flexibility, balance, and aerobic fitness level as well as their muscular strength and physical endurance after just eight weeks of 55-minute yoga classes taken three times a week.
Apparently, a Hatha yoga session of 50 minutes burns 144 calories which is similar to taking a slow walk. Not a bad extra benefit considering yoga is often perceived as simply a form of relaxation. ACE also discovered that their test group showed significant improvement in their shoulder and body flexibility, with the ability to do more push-ups and curl-ups as part of the outcome. Posture also improved in all of the subjects.
So, if you ever find yourself in a heated debate over whether or not yoga offers any true health and fitness benefits, arm yourself with this verbal ammo:
Some benefits of yoga include:
• Improved physical balance, joint movement, muscular strengthening and coordination.
• Improvement of joint range of motion, flexibility and extensibility of connective tissue.
• Improved posture which allows internal organs to function properly and improves breathing.
• Stimulation of the nervous system.
• Improved circulation and pulmonary function.
• Enhanced immune system.
• Enhanced self awareness.
• Decreased the risk of injury.
• Promotion of relaxation and stress reduction.
As mind/body exercise continues to take hold in the present, the practice of yoga has moved from the alternative to the mainstream. So don't let anyone’s preconceived notions of yoga keep you from practicing it and enjoying the benefits of this dynamic mind/body exercise.
Former bodybuilding champion and health advocate Merilee A. Kern, MBA, is the author of the fictional children’s book “It’s Not Your Fault That You’re Overweight - A Story of Enlightenment, Empowerment and Accomplishment for Overweight and Obese Kids”. She can be reached through her Web site at http://www.notfault.com.
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Yoga Wedges- Boosting Your Yoga Skills
By Kevin Pederson
Yoga is an all time medicine to every part of your body. It is very popular and has become an important part of our lives. It is very important to do all the yoga poses correctly so as to avoid any injury. To make that process smoother you can make use of the different props and accessories which are available in the market.
It is made of soft and durable material and comes in different sizes to suit your needs. With the make of the wedge it makes it very easy to use and handle in different poses. A boost to your height is given if you use it between your heels while squatting, under your wrists during one of the downward dog pose.
It can also be used for other poses which pressurize your joints. While doing this pose it becomes a support system and can be made very easy. As pressure is provided on your joints and wrists, it helps in relieving stress from those tensed areas. It alleviates overstretching adding pressure on joints and removal of your problems relating to tight joints and wrists.
The covers are made of cotton which is washable and many are made up of high-density foam with your choice of colors. It can be used in different sitting and forward bending positions which adds to support to your meditation pose. It also helps in creating the right pose for you.
The use of these wedges for the different poses is very useful and beneficial. It helps in keeping your body fit and athletic due to these exercises. It also helps in creating an improvement in your health regime.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz http://www.yogawiz.com, where you can find information on yoga basics, different yoga asanas, accessories like yoga wedges, bolsters, sandbags.
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Yoga Eye Pillow - A New Light Towards Relaxation
By Kevin Pederson
Yoga is all about relaxation and relieving your stress which can make a drastic change in your life. To see that reflect in your life you can do start off by doing some of the basic yoga. Usage of the props and accessories like blankets, rugs, mats and eye pillow are of great help.
These eye pillows are made of different materials. The most commonly used ones are the silk eye pillows which just melt on your face due to its smoothness. Your tense muscles are relaxed and a soothing relief is provided to you. Your droopy and sagging eyes get a new life and by the continuous use of the same you can see a whole lot of difference. The environment you sit and relax is also important as it plays a very important part in relaxing you.
They are also made of satin, rayon for the extra smoothness. The pillows are filled with organic herbs which are used while doing yoga. These organic materials are already heavy and would help in removing the tension around the eyes. It would be similar to having acupressure points pressed and can be a good meditation nap.
These herbs are basically used for the different problems you would be suffering and these eye pillows can be of good help. It helps in keeping the light away from your eyes, avoid eye strain, soothe your tired eyes and make your face glow due to this pillow. They come in different colors which gives a positive feeling about the yoga process.
These are very easy to use as they are easy to use and can be carried anywhere. While traveling too you can make good use of this eye pillow. The cleansing of your eyes just makes all the effort worth it. It is a rejuvenating process to your body and soul.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz where you can find information on yoga basics, different yoga asanas, accessories like yoga wedges, eye pillows a stress reliever.
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Bikram Yoga – Hot, New Energy Source
By Jolene Schwartz
As people search for curative and restorative effects to combat the impact of a chaotic world, Yoga has become very popular in our culture. Yoga is for everyone and can be done by every body. Yoga is the only exercise from which you gain energy instead of burning it and it doesn't matter how well you do each of the postures, only that you do it the right way. Traditional cardio exercise works on 3-10% of the body, Yoga exercises 100% of the body, from bone to the skin, from head to the toes, and to every organ, gland, tissue and cell.
Bikram Yoga is practiced in a 105 degree heated room and consists of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises ... "So what does the heat do," you wonder? 105 degrees enhances Vasodilatation, and the capillaries surrounding the muscles respond to heat by dilating and the greater volume of blood brings more oxygen, helping in the removal of waste carbon dioxide and lactic acid. When blood passes through warm muscles, oxygen releases more easily from the hemoglobin, blood passing through cold muscles releases much less oxygen.
Warmer muscle tissue temperatures produce a fluid-like stretch that allows greater elasticity and range of motion. Cold muscles don't absorb shock or impact as well, so they tend to be injured more easily.
Heat speeds up the breakdown of fatty acids and glucose, and burns fat faster and more easily. The stress of intense exercise drops a deluge of fatty acids into the bloodstream. If you exercise with cold muscles they can't use the fatty acids as efficiently and they end up in places they aren't wanted ... such as in the lining of the arteries.
Muscles are not the only beneficiaries of heat, higher temperatures improve the nervous system function, meaning messages are carried more rapidly to and from the brain by the spinal cord and other neural transmitters and receptors.
Day by day as Yoga gains popularity, people sweat, strain, laugh and do more for their body, health, and well being than they could ever have imagined with Bikram Hot Yoga.
© 2005 Jolene Schwartz
Jolene Schwartz is a grooming specialist for over 20 years; as a master barber and licensed cosmetologist in her own men’s salon. She launched http://appearancesformen.com e-com site; writing monthly columns about men’s products, lifestyle, and offering the finest in men’s grooming products.
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Self Remains in Four States of Consciousness
By Premansu Chand
Presently most Yoga Masters teach Yoga just as a therapy or as a means to keep body and mind healthy. to keep body and mind healthy is not everything; it is the base of Yoga. The apex of Yoga is to realise the true self(atman). According to the Indian Scriptures Atman is Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. So practitioners should try to understand the 'self' first.
Like all living beings, man has consciousness. For this he feels that he has existence. Dead matter has no consciousness and so it cannot know either its own existence or the existence of others. Since conscious man knows his existence, he has a Self. Self is intimately related to his consciousness. Consciousness awakens knowledge in him. This knowledge tells a man that he has a Self or has an existence in relation to others.
According to the Upanishads, this Self remains in four states - waking, dreaming, deep sleep and true self(atman). The practice of Yoga is to move inwards of consciousness from waking through deep sleep to true self states.
In the waking state, consciousness of man spreads everywhere through his sense organs. Self is knowledgeable about the gross body and the gross world outside. It is the enjoyer of this gross material world. It enjoys what it has imagined and created. Gross world has no real existence. If at all it exists, it exists in the consciousness of beings. Gross world is an imagination and creation of all beings. For this, in the waking state, Self is called Universal(vishva).
In the dreaming sate, consciousness spreads inwards i.e. in the subtle dreaming world. Self is knowledgeable about its subtle body and subtle dreaming world. This world is its own creation and very much private. Through its own creation, it enjoys its own creation. The same mind and senses work here. The difference is everything is subtle here and everything is an illumination only. For this Self is called Illuminous(taijasa).
When one goes to sleep, one passes from waking state to dreaming state. Body and world change from gross to subtle. But the same mind and senses remain active. For this dreaming world appears to be as real as waking world. However no world is real.
When one enters into deep sleep state, mind and senses cease to function. For this one sees nothing or hears nothing. Mind and senses immerse in the consciousness. For this consciousness is pure here or Self attains purity. there is none other than the Self. For this one sees nothing or hears nothing. There is no dualism and there is oneness of all. Gods and Goddesses, beings and worlds, hell and heaven become one here.
In the absence of dualism, there is neither virtue nor vice, neither joy nor sorrow; Self is intelligent and blissful. Brightness acts as a sense organ and through this Self enjoys only the bliss. For this after a deep sleep one remains blissful and peaceful. In the deep sleep state, Self is called Intelligent(prajna). This Intelligent Self is the God of all. It becomes the cause of all worlds. This is the state where creation, sustenance and destruction of all beings are determined.
Waking and dreaming states are experienced by all, because mind is active in these two states. Effect of deep sleep is only felt and not realised. The fourth state is neither felt nor realised by all. Only a true Yogi may feel and realise third and fourth states. deep sleep may be realised by a Yogi through meditation when he has risen above body and senses. Throgh meditation mind enters the deep seep and realises it. Then in total concentration(samadhi) he may realise the fourth state again through the mind.
In the fourth state, Self has neither the knowledge of the outside world nor of the inner world; Self is neither intelligent nor ignorant. Only there is the manifestation of true self(atman) which is peaceful, graceful and unique. Self is called soul(atman) here, which is the only thing to be known and to be realised in the whole universe.
So practitioners should learn that Yoga from him, who clears all ignorance and shows true divine or spiritual path. Awake and arise and stop not till the goal is achieved.
Author Premansu Chand practices and teaches Patanjali Yoga. Those who want to know more about spiritualism and yoga may go through his book 'Quest for truth: the spiritual and yogic way' published in USA or may email to him.
http://www.bookstobelievein.com/questfortruth.php
premansu_chand@rediffmail.com
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Is Free Online Yoga Safe?
By Mike Mann
Yoga nowadays is very in demand especially the newest free online free yoga. Yoga practice and exercise can be learned in school.
There are a lot of yoga schools all over the world. Before, yoga was only applied and practice in India but now, looks like it has evolved. Almost all the people in the world know the word yoga although there are some who don’t have a clear picture of it. Yoga for the many people is an exercise and a means to concentrate with the mind and soul.
It is a great advantage that free online yoga was offered to the people. They say that the web is the easiest way to gain, search and acquire knowledge. Almost everything is learned from the web and it is no wonder why the people get hooked on it.
Free online yoga chooses no one in particular. Everyone is a candidate in learning yoga. All you need to do is to have your own computer and get hooked on to it.
If you want to learn from the basics, the net has the resources on how to learn it the easy way. As long as you know how to understand and read, you are capable of learning yoga.
It is an amazing breakthrough that yoga is taught in the web. Free online yoga saves you from going to a yoga class. It saves your time, money and effort. Plus, you can freely do it at home without any one looking at you if that is what you prefer.
If you want to have the free online yoga, there are some certain requirements that you need.
Now you will wonder if free online yoga is really advantageous. If it is, then why are all the people going to schools and bringing their mats on their backpack if they can acquire it at home.
To continue reading this article go now to Is Free Online Yoga Safe
To find out about yoga exercises visit our site at yoga exercises.
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Facts About Yoga Business Coaching Services
By Paul Jerard
There was a time when the use of the words, “Yoga” and “business,” in the same sentence, would have been considered “shameful.” However, when you have a Yoga studio, pay for a lease, advertising, insurance, utilities, and more - you know this is serious business. Whether you own a Yoga studio, or are an independent contractor, your money is “on the line,” and possibly your life savings.
Many Yoga teachers, and directors, often ask me the following questions: What is my most effective way to advertise? Who should handle the marketing? What can I do about student retention? Why does a Yoga teacher need a sales letter or business plan?
As the popularity of Yoga grows, more Yoga teachers are looking for professional advice to “stream line,” market effectively, and make their Yoga businesses “recession proof.” For some Yoga teachers, Yoga has evolved from a sideline hobby to a fulltime Yoga business. Yoga students will not be happy to train and learn with you “in a closet.”
As a Yoga teacher, your economic survival is at stake. With a fulltime business, of any kind, a surprising amount of overhead will follow. When you own a Yoga studio, you have to “wear many hats.” If you are already an established Yoga teacher, you went into teaching Yoga to share the gift and practice your own solo routine more often.
Many of the most successful Yoga studios, ashrams, and wellness centers, get “insider” business and marketing advice. The surprising fact is that Yoga business coaching doesn’t have to cost as much as you think. Yoga business coaching can be handled on a “per session” basis. Many Yoga businesses save, and learn, far more than the session costs.
If this is not the case, it is time to find a different Yoga business coach or consulting service. The objective of Yoga business coaching is to help the Yoga business owner become self sufficient. Therefore, consulting is not for dependence, but to teach the typical Yoga studio owner how to fill the gaps and address priorities within a particular Yoga business.
What type of Yoga studio should seek business advice? Most Yoga businesses, of any size, can use help with a particular issue. Established Yoga studios, and Yoga teachers, usually know where they need help, but still need practical solutions. Also, established Yoga studio owners may want to “recession proof” their business or increase their market share right now.
Is this type of service geared toward new Yoga studios, as well? After years of Yoga training, and thousands of dollars, many new Yoga teachers need to recover the money they have invested in their new career as soon as possible. Yoga business consulting services will help any new Yoga studio get to the next level and put the learning curve behind.
Are Yoga business consulting and technical support services given by phone or Email? Actually, I use a combination of both methods. After a Yoga business coaching session by phone, there is a “homework assignment” for my client. Sometimes, this assignment will save my client thousands of dollars or create unforeseen revenue streams.
Sales letters, marketing campaigns, and website development can be handled by your Yoga business coach, but it is far less expensive if you learn how to take control of your own marketing campaign. Again, the objective is to have a client who becomes totally self sufficient.
However, complete marketing campaigns for Yoga studios are never refused by any responsible business coach. In any economy, coaching programs for marketing and business will save you thousands of dollars, and teach you skills that will last you a lifetime. At this point, it will be much easier for you to help your own Yoga students and clients.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
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Is Maslow's Hierarchy A Plagiarism On Chakras & Kundalini Yoga, Known About For Thousands of Years
By Swami Satchidanand
Maslow's Hierarchy of needs Psychology- Really a plagiarism of the psychological aspects of the 7 Chakra Processors? Is Maslow's Hierarchy of needs really a plagiarism or parallel confirming research of the psychological aspects of the 7 Chakras, known about in Kundalini Yoga for Thousands of Years.
Chakras are about the parallel processors of the mind. Only one of these processors is Intellectual. The rest comprise the emotions, the unconscious, the subconscious, the inner child and the id.
All todays fastest supercomputers use parallel processors gaining speed with the number of processors.
Base Chakra is Mooladhara Chakra
Abdominal Chakra is Swadisthan Chakra
Solar Plexus Chakra is Manipur Chakra
Heart Chakra is Anahata Chakra
Throat Chakra is Visshudhi Chakra
Brow or Third Eye Chakra is Ajna Chakra
Crown Chakra is Sahasrara Chakra
The levels of evolution and their relationship to the parallel processors of the human brain, chakra, development and the ages at which they normally start working correctly, are used in the Montessori method of teaching yet the age of paradigm shift is simply the age at which another chakra gains functionality. Anyone can see that this follows the theory of chakra awakening of Kundalini Yoga known about for thousands of years.
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs says that as the lower desires are fed so higher desires can be achieved.
Sex , Safety and Food - base chakra
Belonging in relationships – second chakra
Power – solar plexus
Self Esteem – Heart Chakra
Self Actualisation – Crown Chakra
Anyone can see that this follows the theory of chakra awakening of Kundalini Yoga known about for thousands of years.
Chakras are like the processors in a super computer. The more they communicate, the more intelligent they are. So anything which stops that communication, like an energy blockage will decrease intelligence. The more each chakra functions, the more intelligent we are, therefore anything which stops that functionality, like an energy blockage, the less of our potential intelligence we are using.
Intelligence is not only the intellectual IQ.
Emotional Intelligence functions in different chakras from the intelligence chakra. And emotional intelligence is when there exists in a human being none of the negative emotions.
Negative emotions are, Anger, Depression, wanting attention, manicism and Fear but to these we could add, wanting to harm another, jealousy and selfish desire.
As the chakras becomes harmonized by losing their energy blockages then the negative emotions become controllable or just go.
Thus releasing the Power of Positive emotions like Love, Willpower and the Power of getting things done. These become the norm.
Kundalini Yoga works by giving advanced techniques to remove energy blockages and thus release the power of the human intellect and Positive Emotion. Of Love, Love under Will.
Read the psychology of, Wilber, Piaget and Berne, - Ponder on this and see the truth for yourself.
Director Satchidanand, is one of the leading teachers of Meditation.
He helps people worldwide reach further than they EVER thought possible, FASTER!
http://www.energyenhancement.org
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Warm Sesame-Oil Massage: A Yummy Yoga Treat! (And Great Way of Calming Vata)
By Elizabeth Reninger
The art & science of Ayurveda (a close cousin to Yoga) perceives, maps & speaks of the human body in terms of the three Doshas ~ Vata, Pitta and Kapha ~ each of which governs a different aspect of our lived experience. Though all three Doshas operate within every (living) person, each of us manifests a unique (and ever-changing) combination of their attributes. The predominant pattern of this combination within us gives rise to what is known as our Tri-Dosha “type,” or “constitution.”
The Vata Dosha, which will be the focus of this article, corresponds to the elements space and air. As such, it governs all movement in our human physiology, from the subtle, fleeting movement of thoughts across the screen of our mind, to the coursing of blood through our arteries and veins, to the movements of our limbs and pranic body in a yoga asana practice. The Vata Dosha can be, within this system, divided further into five sub-doshas, each of which represents the functioning of Vata in a specific part of the body. These sub-categories (which correspond to Yogic divisions of Prana) are: prana, udana, vyana, samana & apana.
When Vata is in balance, we are alert and spontaneous in our mental, emotional & physical movements. Our intelligence is active in a relaxed and fluid way. We are spacious without being “spaced out.”
When Vata is out of balance, we manifest symptoms such as: worry, stress, anxiety, fatigue, an over-active mind, restlessness, agitation, difficulty sleeping and mood swings. There are also physical symptoms of out-of-balance Vata, such as dry skin or constipation … though my focus here is more on the emotional/mental aspects. [Just an aside: these are symptoms which are often given, within western medicine, the diagnosis of ADD or ADHD … hmmm …]
So how do we bring an out-of-balance Vata back into balance? Ayurvedic suggestions for doing this include:
(1) Maintaining a regular daily routine with respect to meal-times, exercise & relaxation, and sleeping times. Early to bed & early to rise tends to be best for Vata … and if you’re having trouble sleeping, try drinking a cup of warm milk with a pinch of ground nutmeg, right before bed.
(2) Eating warm cooked meals (as opposed to cold or raw foods) which include oils (e.g. ghee or sesame or sunflower oil) and/or oily foods (e.g. nuts, seeds, olives, avocados).
(3) Living in a warm moist climate with lots of fresh air and sunshine (e.g. Hawaii … or at the least, buy a humidifier!).
(4) Wearing clothing that is either warm (e.g. red, orange, yellow) or calming (e.g. green) in color.
(5) Choosing for leisure calming activities such as walks in nature or parks (see my previous post on “Walking Meditation”!)
(6) Treating yourself to a warm oil massage … the really yummy thing which will now be described in a bit more detail …
A delightful way of calming an out-of-balance Vata is to give yourself a warm-oil massage. The oil that is best to use for Vata imbalance is sesame oil (organic un-roasted cold-pressed is the very best). So buy yourself some oil; warm up about 1/3rd cup or so (in a small pan on your stove, medium heat); turn up the heat in your house; spread a large towel or a sheet on the floor; and then ~ from head to foot (including your hair and scalp!) ~ work the warm oil into your skin, using circular massage-strokes. When you’ve finished, cover up so that you stay really warm, and let the oil soak into your skin for a half-hour at least. After you’ve relaxed like this for a half-hour or hour, then take a warm shower, washing off any excess oil (which hasn’t by this time been absorbed into your skin). Apply a light moisturizing lotion after the shower (to “seal” the oil that’s already there) … and notice how you feel!
If you do this weekly or even daily, when you’re experiencing Vata-imbalance symptoms, you’ll very likely notice a shift … notice the balanced-Vata qualities of relaxed alertness and joyful spontaneity emerging once again.
Enjoy!
And to end (this article, and begin the rest of your day), what feels to me to be a very “Vata” poem (you can decide if it’s balanced or imbalanced!) by the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore (from his Gitanjali):
I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn uselessly roaming in the sky, O my sun ever-glorious! Thy touch has not yet melted my vapour, making me one with thy light, and thus I count months and years separated from thee.
If this be thy wish and if this be thy play, than take this fleeting emptiness of mine, paint it with colours, gild it with gold, float it on the wanton wind and spread it in varied wonders.
And again when it shall be thy wish to end this play at night, I shall melt and vanish away in the dark, or it may be in a smile of the white morning, in a coolness of purity transparent.
Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. She is a student of Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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The Blissful Body of the Yogi(ni): Yidam Practice & Yoga Asana
By Elizabeth Reninger
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, a Tibetan yogi often compared to the great Milarepa, when addressing the issue of Yidam practice within the Vajrayana vehicle of Tibetan Buddhism, has said: It is the blissful body of the yogi or yogini that is the true Deity. So what might this mean? And how, if at all, is it (or could it be) related to the practice of Yoga asana? Let’s explore …
Yidam practice unfolds in two stages: (1) The Generation or Creation Stage, in which the specific deity that one is working with is created, i.e. given a “form” within the imagination of the practitioner; and (2) The Completion Stage, in which that created form of the deity is dissolved: resolved into emptiness, and (its residue, its true intelligence) light/radiance. The practice also, over time, evolves from one in which the deity is merely a conceptual projection, to one in which the “natural deity” appears, non-conceptually, before the practitioner, as a visible aspect of his/her own radiance.
Yidam practice as a whole is based, in large part, upon a productive use of the imagination. It takes that capacity (and strong tendency) most of us have to make mental pictures, and uses this as a tool to align us with, open us to, a reality that is deeper, more profound, and “truer” than the one we’re habitually “tuned into.” The imagined forms of the deities have the quality of being able, potentially, to act as portals, or gateways into these deeper realities … to put us in touch, directly, with aspects of awakened mind.
Now it’s important to notice the distinction between ~ on the one hand ~ this Yidam-practice way of using our imagination (as a very specific form of mental training, which ultimately can liberate us), and ~ on the other hand ~ a use of the imagination which amounts to no more than (habitual, and often largely unconscious) fantasizing. To engage in fantasy is ~ from the perspective of Buddha Dharma ~ a non-productive use of the imagination: one that takes us further into the territory of conceptualization, mental elaboration, and as such further and further away from a reality which has the potential to liberate us.
So how does any of this relate to the practice of Yoga asana? We could, first of all, consider each specific asana as a deity-form: something we construct/project (a la the Creation Stage) and then dissolve (a la the Completion Stage). And certainly asana practice is based largely upon a distinction between productive and non-productive alignments/uses of the body. The productive alignments (a la the productive uses of mental imagination) are those which have the potential to open us into a reality deeper than the mere physical, e.g. to the level of the Central Channel/Shushumna Nadi, and the subsequent conscious flow of that awakened energy outward, into the whole network of nadis within the subtle body of the yogi or yogini. The non-productive alignments (a la fantasies), on the other hand, simply keep the energy of our subtle bodies circulating unconsciously (divorced from the “truth” of the Shushumna Nadi) in old samskaric patterns, i.e. keep us circling on the wheel of bith-and-death which in Buddhism is called Samsara.
And in the same way that in deity practice there is an evolution from the deity as a mere conceptual projection (though a potentially productive one!) to the non-conceptual appearance of the “natural deity”; just so in our asana practice we often begin with a rather “outside-in” approach, in which the asana is actually a form of conceptual projection, i.e. it’s an “idea” we have (from our teacher, or books, or whatever) that we put forth in the form of an arrangement of (the appearance of) bones, muscles, etc. … but it’s not yet “real” or “natural.” As our asana practice matures, more and more we’re able to work from the “inside-out,” in which the asanas emerge spontaneously, non-conceptually, as aspects of our natural intelligence/radiance. Our movements in and out of the asanas are infused with the spirit of what in Taoism is called Wu Wei: an effortless effort which quite naturally produces the “correct” alignments (as opposed to “imposing” those alignments based upon some external “moral code” of asana practice).
So how then do we progress from a conceptual to a natural way of expressing our asana practice? From the poses as mere conceptual projections to expressions of an awakened bodymind? A practitioner of the Generation Stage of Yidam practice might move in this direction by finding the Completion Stage within the Creation Stage, by finding the dissolution of the form as an inherent aspect of the form itself (much as ~ in Taoist theory/practice ~ Yang is an inherent aspect of Yin: they inter-are). In this same way, our asana practice might re-member the dissolution of form within every form/asana taken. And might ~ to extend the principle ~ put into conscious and ever-evolving relationship all opposing movements … So little by little our “ideas” about the “right way” to do the pose are replaced by an ever-more-subtle tremoring which spontaneously aligns us in a way that allows our conceptually projected “body” to dissolve into the blissful body of the deity: an aspect of our own radiance, pouring forth, shedding itself continuously, for the benefit of all living beings.
One of the initial trainings in Dream Yoga ~ once the practitioner is able to be lucid (i.e. awake) within the dream ~ is to transform the body: to change the shape of ones body into the body of a bird; into an airplane (and fly to Paris!); or ~ relevant to our current exploration ~ into the shape of a deity, which ~ in the context of dreaming ~ is quite easy to experience and understand as being an “empty form,” i.e. a form made only of color, light & energy (much like a rainbow). In this same way, our vinyasa ~ our movement in and out of asanas, upon the thread of our awakened breath ~ might become, with practice, a kind of “Rainbow Painting” (I’ve borrowed the phrase from a book with this same title written by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche): merely a “play” in color, light and energy, a toggling back and forth between the display of empty forms (the specific asanas), and the bliss which is the residue of their dissolution.
And this, perhaps, represents ~ simultaneously ~ the “waking up” of the dream of our asana practice, and the “waking up” of the dream of our Yidam practice; represents the “waking up” from the dream/fantasy of religious practice into the blissful radiance of the Present Moment … Amen and Sobeit.
Elizabeth Reninger has been exploring yoga ~ in its Hindu, Buddhist & Taoist forms ~ for more than twenty years, and is a student of Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. She is also a published poet, and currently resides in Boulder, Colorado. For more essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website at: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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Benefits And Importance Of Yoga For Elderly
By Kevin Pederson
Time and again we have been saying Yoga is not too old or too young for anyone. The sooner you start its better, but if you haven't had your time of glory in young age then you still can do it at your current age. Age, Sex, Religion, Race, Caste or Creed is no bar with yoga. You will only gain from it and not loose anything in life.
With the increasing age people have stopped doing their routine exercise which is totally wrong. By exercising or doing yoga you tend to get younger by age and heart. Age should never be a hindrance. It is very important that you continue the old lifestyle with control on your diet. Life gets to be very simple and easy to live in.
Make sure to consult your doctor if you are starting these yoga poses for the first time. Yoga not only has asana but other techniques such as breathing and meditation. It is a combination of all three which are very important. Pranayam is one of the basic exercises which everyone would start with. These are very simple and easy to do exercises. Meditation is also very helpful as it removes your stress and would get you to a place you could hardly know about.
These can cure many illnesses. A slow and gradual process would help you many ways and make this very simple. The common and simple things you can keep in mind is that, don’t exert yourself, don't bend too much, take your time and do the poses, whatever you do, see to it that these exercises do not cause pain while doing it.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz, mentions the importance of yoga for young as well as old, a boon for many who goes through this stage in their lifetime.
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A Fresh Look at Mantra Yoga
By James Barton
The whole universe is Consciousness vibrating at different frequencies. All the varying techniques of yoga(union) and meditation are based on the underlying principles of resonance and sympathetic vibration.
Through atunement with a particular state of consciousness we become it. Atunement means aligning our variables so that they correspond with the state we are trying to attain.
What are the variables which we have to work with? They are such things as posture, colour, our actions and the words that we intone.
Sacred alphabets such as Sanskrit are said to embody the complete spectrum of universal forces. By utilizing the science of mantra we may harness this awesome power- this power of vibration which is the basis for the whole of Creation.
It has often gone unrecognized however that the power of mantra yoga affects us all whether we are aware of it or not.
When ever we speak silently to ourselves or out loud we are influenced by the quality of the vibrations which we are giving out.
Imagine that you heard two people arguing in a foreign language which you could not understand. You would be able to get a feel for what was been said by the actual quality of the sound being produced.
It is not then necessary to know the ins and outs of the exact nature of sacred alphabets nor to be empowered by a Guru in order to benefit from the science of mantra.
By being mindful of the quality of our speech we will be making an important contribution to our well being.
If you ever catch yourself talking harshly, with unkindness or moaning in a victim like way know that you are actually intoning a negative although weak mantra.
With this awareness, relax and uplift the quality of your speech. Imagine the ideal: rich, confident and compassionate tones and aim for that. An understanding of the virtues is useful in imagining the ideal. Be sure then to study "Inner Medicine" for a deeper appreciation of the virtues.
One of the reasons for the differences in national character is because of the particular language habitually used. Even same language regional differences in character and accent have a mutual effect on each other.
It can be useful to see your own character and speech in the context of regional influences so as not to be restrained by them.
Whilst it is true that general speech is important, there can be no doubt that more advanced mantra practices are far more powerful. Why is this?
Well as stated earlier atunement is connected with optimizing variables. By sitting in the correct posture, by wearing natural loose fitting clothing of a particular colour, by gazing at a sacred image at the same time as reciting the mantra with conscious intent and understanding its meaning then we are harnessing far more of the variables available to us: thus having a correspondingly greater effect.
Where as the letters vocalized in everyday speech have a more or less random(or certainly unintentional) effect a true Mantra is constructed specifically with a goal in mind. This means that the intention energy is much more focused. It also means that the letters are chosen for their innate and non-arbitrary vibrational effect.
It is also said that by using a mantra given to us by a genuine realized soul the blessings are greater still.
Firstly such a realized soul, being aware of our imbalances etc, can prescribe us with a mantra/medicine ideally suited to our temperament. Secondly it is said that such a mantra is empowered by the blessings of the teacher. These blessings are partly due to morphic resonance and partly intelligent spiritual intervention at subtle levels.
If you really want to understand mantra yoga then you must study the sacred alphabets, the different types of letter and so on. Study many different schools of thought on the subject and try to get to the deeper meanings below the rubbish which inevitably creeps into these subjects.
I would say though that for most students this is unnecessary: Good natured intent and simple effort being more beneficial than what can become a distracting dry intellectual exercise.
Practicing diligently to uplift our every day speech is a noble yoga indeed.
Author James Barton invites your valued comments, questions and criticism.
Please Visit VirtueScience.com:
Character Improvement via the Virtues for more information.
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Dancing For Your Whole Life: Yogic Advice from the Vijnanabhairava Tantra
By Elizabeth Reninger
“Wander or dance to exhaustion in utter spontaneity. Then, suddenly, drop to the ground and in this fall be total. There absolute essence is revealed.”
~ Vijnanabhairava Tantra, verse 111
Each of has the desire (yes?) to become ~ with each breath we take, with each step of our lives ~ more fully alive … And yet there is the paradox that each breath we take, each step of our lives, brings us one step, one breath closer to our death. So how do we work with this? Is there a “solution” to this paradox?
The traditions of Buddhism as well as Kashmir Shaivism see (the appearance of) this life of ours as training-ground for (the appearance of) that moment of our death. They resolve the paradox through the understanding that only by training ~ in every moment ~ in the art of being fully alive, fully present here and now, in this moment, in this moment, in this moment ~ only through a practice such as this are we able then to be fully present (fully alive!) at the moment of our “death.”
The quotation above, from the Vijnanabhairava Tantra (a text written by the Shaivite School of Kashmir around the first century A.D.), points to such a resolution. Let’s take a closer look …
“Wander or dance to exhaustion in utter spontaneity.” Have you ever danced, or performed any other activity, so completely, with such total abandon, such love and absorption, that the point of “exhaustion” (what distance runners call “the wall”) opens into a whole new realm of experience, puts you in touch with a whole new flow of energy/inspiration? It’s the moment when years of training (our accumulated “expertise”) is allowed to open, to fall away into a “mindless” spontaneity … when movement becomes both divinely precise and effortless (Michael Jordan, Baryshnikov, & Jet Li come to mind here) … when “I” am no longer doing anything, yet all things are still manifesting, radiantly, perfectly. In the language of Taoism this state of effortless doing is called Wu Wei.
“Then, suddenly, drop to the ground and in this fall be total.” Have you ever gone out on a warm summer night, laid on your back on a grassy hillside, and let your mind & heart & vision travel out into the starry sky, with its countless galaxies? When we surrender, we surrender completely … no holding back. We let the whole thing dissolve. We die into the present moment. In the language of Tibetan Buddhism, this is called the Completion Stage.
“There absolute essence is revealed.” What if the essence of life and the essence of death were one and the same? What if both our “wandering” and our “dancing” were expressions of that one essence, and equally wise? What if we could touch ~ with each breath, each step, each of our “awakened” daily activities ~ the sweetness & power that is this essence?
And now, please feel free …. to Dance!
Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga - in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. To read more of her yoga-related essays, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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Circles & Spirals: The Center of a Yoga /Qigong Practice
By Elizabeth Reninger
This morning, walking up the hill near my house, to see the mountains, what I noticed was how the sky was filled with the kind of clouds that (I believe!) are particular to this sort of geography: places where large & extensive mountain ranges fall off into plains. They’re the kind of clouds (I don’t know their official name) that are perfectly smooth flat spheres, that look like soft-white flying saucers … Because of the specific atmospheric conditions of the morning, then, dozens of these inflated communion-wafers were flowing over the lip of the mountains. And the sight of this ~ along with simply delighting me! ~ brought to mind this whole topic of the role of circles and spirals in yoga/qigong practice …
Every yoga/qigong practitioner at some point discovers that circular or spiraling movements (of body and mind) tend to augment and circulate (in a useful way) their energy (life-force, qi, prana), while more linear or perpendicular movements tend to result in a decrease, stagnation or leakage of energy. This principal is put into action in a very explicit way in the practice of Aikido. Here, the energy of an opponent’s “attack,” instead of being directly resisted (a perpendicular action), is received into a circling/spiraling movement (the “orbit” of the practitioner) which simply re-directs that force into a counter-attack, i.e. the energy of one’s opponent’s attack is used “against” them. (At higher levels of the practice, the entire thing is seen to be a kind of “dance,” in which the notions of “for” and “against,” as well as “self” and “other,” become quite transparent and, ultimately, disappear.)
So why is this the case? Why do circular/spiraling movements nourish us, while more linear actions deplete our energy? If Lao Tzu (a Taoist sage, purported author of the Tao Te Ching) were here, he might simply point our awareness to the fact that our bodies (the vehicles of our yoga/qigong practice) are composed of the same elements as the rest of the phenomenal world ~ yes? And then point our vision to: the movement of planets around their sun; the movement of electrons around their nucleus; the rotation of the earth around its core; the shape of the earth itself (if you walk to the horizon, are you going to fall off the edge?). All this in an effort to help us to re-member: we’re standing on a sphere, which is circling its core, as it orbits (circle/spiral combination) our sun, as the solar system itself spirals within the Milky Way galaxy … and on and on! And, finally, the ancient infant (Lao Tzu’s nickname) might say to us: there is a universe (perhaps the only one) similar to this within your human body!
As we allow our movements to be circular and spiraling we’re bringing ourselves into alignment with these truths, and opening a gateway to experiencing them directly, at the level of our human body. We’re taking steps in the direction of “finding” that universe within us, of actually embodying the Truth of Who-We-Are …
And to end (this, which is simply the beginning of whatever you do next …) here’s a poem by the great mystic-poet Hafiz, which explores a similar theme:
Circles
The moon is most happy
When it is full.
And the sun always looks
Like a perfectly minted gold coin
That was just Polished
And place in flight
By God’s playful Kiss.
And so many varieties of fruit
Hang plump and round
From branches that seem like a Sculptor’s hands.
I see the beautiful curve of a pregnant belly
Shaped by a soul within,
And the Earth itself,
And the planets and the Spheres –
I have gotten the hint:
There is something about circles
The Beloved likes.
Hafiz,
Within the Circle of a Perfect One
There is an Infinite Community
Of Light.
Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga - in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. To read more of her yoga-related essays, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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What Is Yoga? Asana In the Context of the Six Yogas System
By Elizabeth Reninger
What Is Yoga?
Yoga is freedom. It is love. It is pure, radiant, unobstructed joy. It
is pure awareness, wide-awake and clear.
~ Richard Freeman, director of The Yoga Workshop, in Boulder, CO
Here in the United States, on the cusp of 2006, just about everyone has heard the word “yoga.” For many if not most, the word conjures images of scantily-clad beings with expanding and twisting limbs: a well-worn “scene” in health clubs, retreat centers, and yoga spaces throughout the country. In other words, it brings to mind the practice of asana ~ sequences of physical movements and postures ~ which, as it turns out, represent just a tiny slice of the entire “pie” that is the Yoga Tradition(s) of the larger world (universe, cosmos). Now there’s nothing wrong with the practice of asana (I do it myself, and find it quite wonderful!), but it might be useful to be able to place this particular aspect of yoga onto its larger “map” ~ to have a sense of the tradition(s) from which it arises and to which it returns, and to understand asana to be just one of many possible entry-points into this vast and beautiful territory. So let’s explore …
The word Yoga originates from the Sanskrit word Yuj (literally, "to yoke") and is generally translated as "union" or "integration" -- to yoke, attach, join, or unite. The “union” referred to here is that of the individual soul with the cosmos, the Supreme; of the small “self” of ego/individual identity with the larger “Self” or “Spirit” of which we’ll all a part. But what does this mean? And how to we get there?! It is in the quest to answer these questions that the various Yoga traditions have arisen.
Perhaps the broadest categorization within the world of Yoga is along the lines of the great spiritual traditions of the world, and in particular, their mystical wings/branches: Those within these traditions who identify as “mystics” are seeking yoga, or direct (unmediated) union, with the Divine. Examples of Yoga at this level include: Buddhist Yoga (e.g. the “six Yogas of Naropa”); Taoist Yoga (commonly known as Qigong ~ the basis for all of the martial & healing arts with origins in China); and the Yogas associated with the so-called “Hindu” traditions of India.
The practice of asana, as it’s best known in this country, falls into the last of these categories: the Hindu Yoga traditions. But this tradition itself has numerous aspects. One way of looking at it is through the lens of “The Six Yoga Systems,” which can be understood as six different doorways, entry-points, portals, or vehicles through which a practitioner might approach, engage with, and enter the territory of Yoga.
The Six Yoga Systems
1.Hatha Yoga is the category under which asana falls. One way of translating the word “Hatha” is to break it into two parts: “ha”=sun and “tha”=moon. Sun and moon, in this context, refer to the two opposite currents that regulate all processes in our body: the “masculine” and the “feminine,” or ~ in terms of subtle anatomy, the pingala and the , the two nadis, or channels of energy, whose union within the central channel of the shushumna nadi is ~ for those practicing in this tradition, the very definition of Yoga. Aside from being, in the way described above, a vehicle for mystical union, the asanas ~ on a more mundane level ~ are great for improving health & strengthening the nervous system … and this is understood to be the first and a necessary step along this path. Forms of Hatha Yoga being practiced in the United States today include: Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Kripalu, Bikrams, and Anusara (to name just a few!).
2.Raja (royal) Yoga is often referred to as the “crown of Hatha Yoga.” What makes it the “crown” is its addition ~ to the physical practices of Hatha Yoga ~ of a kind of mental training intended to improve concentration to the point at which it flows into meditation and, finally, samadhi (which is, for this tradition, the ultimate definition of Yoga). Raja Yoga is known also as Ashtanga (eight-limbed) Yoga. These eight limbs include:
1. Yamas, or Restraints (harmlessness, truthfulness, non-stealing, control of senses)
2. Niyamas, or Disciplines (cleanliness, purification of body, mind and nervous system, study of metaphysical principles, contemplation on God)
3. Asanas or Postures
4. Pranayama, or Un-binding of breath and life-currents
5. Pratyahara, or Turning the attention within, by reversing the flow of the energy of the sense organs
6. Dharana, or Concentration
7. Dhyana, or Meditation, i.e. prolonged periods of perfect concentration and contemplation
8. Samadhi, or Mystical Union
The exposition of Raja Yoga is contained, most famously, in the sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.
3. Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of Devotion, of love for the Divine in its embodied forms. Radha and the other Gopis are ~ in their relationship to Krishna ~ the archetypal, quintessential Bhaktas, for it is through their love and devotion and delight in the presence of Krishna that they come to know themselves as Divine. Selfless love, compassion, humility, and purity, along with this desire and serious intention to merge with God, are qualities which are cultivated along this path. (Amachi, Shree Ma, and Karunamayi are three contemporary Teachers of this path.)
4.Jnana Yoga (the Yoga of Knowledge) is a Yoga that uses the intellect as a tool to understand that our true Self is behind and beyond our mind. It is, in other words, a path which uses the power of the intellect to ~ ultimately ~ free us from conceptual elaboration of all sorts, and allow us to relax within the space beyond all concepts of mind. For the purpose of this sort of Self-discovery, Jnana Yoga probes the nature of the Self through the question "Who am I?" Thus Jnana Yoga is sometimes called the Quest for the Self or the Inquiry into "who we are." (Shankara ~ a yogi “claimed” by the Buddhist as well as the Hindu traditions ~ and, more recently, Ramana Maharshi are two well-known practitioners of Jnana Yoga.)
5.Kriya Yoga is a yogic system covering a wide range of techniques, including mantras and techniques of meditation for control of the life-force (prana). The term “Kriya” is often used in reference to (intended or spontaneous) actions which free the body and/or mind of obstructions. The goal ~ as in all forms of Yoga ~ is to unite with pure Awareness (God). Since pure Awareness is our original condition, it is also, within this system, referred to as Self-awareness. (Yogananda’s Self-Realization Fellowship is one example of a modern organization devoted to this form of practice.)
6.Karma Yoga is the Yoga of work/action, of selfless service. Practitioners of Karma Yoga engage whole-heartedly in the “mundane” work of the world, for the benefit of all fellow human (and non-human) beings, and devote the fruits of their labors to the Divine. In this action of letting go of hope/fear around future outcomes, attention is brought more and more completely into the present moment, which is the Heart of the Divine. And so in giving away all fruits of labor, the practitioner ~ paradoxically ~ receives, continuously, the greatest of gifts, the greatest wealth: the treasure-house called Yoga, the radiant “aliveness” of the Present Moment.
Yet another way of dividing the Yogic pie (so delicious!) is into the two categories of (1) Yoga as path, which including all the various sadhanas (techniques & practices), schools & historical traditions; and (2) Yoga as fruition, which includes the various siddhis, accomplishments or fruits, of practice, as well as the ultimate “fruit” of Mystical Union itself ~ the final goal ~ which, once received, transcends even the path/fruition polarity. At that point ~ the realized Masters tell us ~ one finds oneself in a place both new and quite familiar … a place eluded to, perhaps, by the Sufi mystic/poet, Jelaluddin Rumi, in this poem of his:
Out beyond ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn’t make any sense.
Hope this overview (my Karma Yoga for the day!) is useful and/or interesting to you … And if you’d like to learn more about these and other Yoga Traditions, one great resource is Georg Feuerstein’s book The Yoga Tradition.
Namaste! (the spark of Divinity in me bows to the spark of Divinity in you!)
Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Hindu & Buddhist varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. To read more of her yoga-related essays, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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Yoga: The Complete Science of Life
By Mirza Mohd Ali Baig
Yoga is a complete science of life that originated in India many thousands of years ago. It is the oldest system of personal development in the world encompassing the entire body, mind and spirit. It is the union between a person's own consciousness and the universal consciousness.
The Ancient Yogis had a profound understanding of man's essential nature and of what he needs to live in harmony with himself and his environment.
Taking into account the interrelationship between body and mind, the Yogis formulated a unique method for maintaining this balance - a method that combines all the movements you need for physical health with the Breathing and Meditation techniques that ensure peace of mind.
The classical techniques of Yoga date back more than 5,000 years. In ancient times, the desire for greater personal freedom, Health and long life, and heightened self-understanding gave birth to this system of physical and mental exercise which has since spread throughout the world.
Yoga means
The word Yoga means "to join or yoke together," and it brings the body and mind together into one harmonious experience.
Yoga is a method of learning that aims to attain the unity of mind, body, and spirit through these three main Yoga structures
Yoga Structures
Exercise Breathing, and Meditation. The exercises of Yoga are designed to put pressure on the Glandular Systems of the body, thereby increasing its efficiency and total health.
Branches of Yoga
There are six branches of yoga. They are
1. Hatha Yoga
2. Bhakti Yoga
3. Raja Yoga
4. Ghana Yoga
5. Karma Yoga and
6. Tantra Yoga
Hatha Yoga, Hatha Yoga is the path of Physical Yoga or Yoga of Postures is the most popular branch of Yoga. Hatha Yoga considered the body as the vehicle for the soul. It uses Physical Poses or Asana Breathing Techniques or Pranayama, Meditation in order to bring the body in perfect health. The practice of Hatha Yoga will result to the union of the body and the soul, it aims to make the body perfect and fill it with life force. Bhakti Yoga Bhakti Yoga is the path of heart and devotion or the Yoga of devotion. Yogis who practice Bhakti Yoga sees the Divine in everyone and everything he encounters. Raja Yoga Raja means "royal".
Raja Yoga is the path of Yoga that focuses on meditation and contemplation. It is based on the Eight Limbs of www.property-in-majorca.com Yoga which was discussed in the Yoga Sutra. This Yoga path teaches deep self respect through self mastery. The self here is honored. Jnana Yoga, Jnana Yoga is the path of Yoga that deals with wisdom and knowledge or the Yoga of the mind. Jnana Yogis pays tribute on man's intelligence. Karma Yoga, Karma Yoga believes that your present situation is based on your past actions. Karma Yoga is the path of service; it refers to the energy of action. This path requires you to be selfless Tantra Yoga, Tantra Yoga is the path of ritual and perhaps the most misunderstood path. Some may think of Tantra Yoga as sorcery, witchcraft, magic spell or some mysterious formula. Most people perceive Tantra Yoga as sexual. All of these perceptions are far from truth.
Many people are aware of Hatha Yoga or the Yoga of Postures. Developing a strong, healthy and flexible body is what every wants and desires. Yogis revere the body. However, they do this because they realize that a weak and tired body is a hindrance towards spiritual progress.
Anyone can practice Yoga. You don't need any special equipment, clothing, or lessons; all you need is the will to pursue a healthier and happier lifestyle. www.mcsweb.in The Yoga Postures and Asanas exercise every part of your body. Many people are first drawn to Yoga as a way to keep their bodies fit and supple. Others come seeking relief or help for a specific ailment like tension or Backache. Whatever be the reason, Yoga can be a tool in giving you both what you came for, and more.
Anyone who continues with regular practice becomes aware of a subtle change in their approach in life. Yoga makes you discover your true nature, a state of inner peace, through the practice of toning and relaxing your body and relaxing your mind. Controlling the mind will give you the ability to do a lot of things. www.ntairis.com Yoga coordinates the breath with movement, allowing you to fully experience the stretch. www.andorra.es Yoga is not about simply completing a stretch so that you can move on to the next one. It is about being present in the moment. Yoga is not about competition or comparing. When practicing yoga, one goes within, being aware of what is happening inside the body. Whatever the body can do in a yoga session is exactly what it should be doing. One accepts without judging.
As you continue practicing yoga, you may find that yoga can lead to a journey within yourself. You may find the link between the body, mind and spirit to offer a new area of inner growth and self-understanding.
Some interesting and important facts about Yoga
• Yoga is over 5000 years old.
• Yoga originated in India.
• "Yoga" is a Sanskrit word, which means "to yoke" or "to bind."
• "Asana" is what the yoga postures are called.
• Several asanas done in succession without a break or pause is called a "vinyasa."
• Yoga should be done on an empty stomach. Prior to practicing yoga, you should only eat something light, at least two hours before the class.
• Loose, comfortable clothing should be worn to do yoga.
• Yoga increases flexibility, lowers stress, and increases your energy level.
Yoga Asanas
In yoga classes the body is moved forward, backward and laterally. Twists, inversions and balance poses are also done. Each of these movements affects the body in a psychological way.
Psychological aspects of each movement.
• Forward Bending : Listening, Humility, Trust, Surrender
• Lateral Bending : General resiliency in life, Flexibility, Ability to dodge, change direction
• Twisting : Helps to look at and accept the past, Versatility
• Backward Bending : To do a thing to the extreme, to bend over backward, Aggression.
• Inversion : Try new things, less fixed, Change in attitude, Confidence.
• Balance : Control of emotions and reactions, Balance of mind and body, Stamina, staying power.
• Savasana : Turning loose of control, letting go, Trust.
Benefits of yoga to all
Yoga can help every body feel better. It reduces stress. It improves flexibility and muscle tone, increases circulation, relieves chronic pain and alleviates anxiety-related disorders. Best of all, it cultivates physical awareness, refreshes your energy, and offers a little vacation from the everyday grind.
Yoga encourages us to remove the physical and mental obstacles in our lives that create stress and take us out of balance. It supports us in developing personal practices that cultivate a sense of light, harmony, health, and well-being.
Yoga benefits people of all ages, men and women, marathoners and the athletically challenged. Millions of people worldwide have embraced yoga as a way to manage life's physical and emotional difficulties, from chronic back pain to anxiety and depression.
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Polarity Processing: a Simple Yogic Tool for Getting "Un-Stuck"
By Elizabeth Reninger
When you’re feeling stuck in old emotional, mental or physical patterns, Polarity Processing is a simple & powerful tool ~ based firmly in yogic principles ~ that can help you get un-stuck. The technique has been given to the world through the contemporary Teacher Leslie Temple-Thurston, who is based, with her organization CoreLight, in South Africa and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
So here’s how it works: When you notice yourself being “stuck” (e.g. in patterns of emotional reactivity, or in a physical illness you can’t quite shake, or in mental negativity, or in a life-situation (financial, relationship) which just seems to keep repeating itself, in a way that’s not useful or enjoyable), the first thing to do is stop and acknowledge your “stuck-ness.” Simply being willing to see it (to access that part of yourself that’s a neutral “witness” to whatever drama is unfolding) creates the space for this technique to work.
Next, take out a piece of paper and a pen, sit down, and write ~ for ten or fifteen minutes ~ about the situation. Let yourself describe it fully, with a focus on saying/writing how you’re feeling about the whole thing. You’ll probably generate a page or two of writing. (It should be no more than this.)
When you’ve completed this step, go back and underline (in what you’ve just written) all of the “emotionally-charged” words or phrases. (Words like: hopeless, sad, frustrated, shame, rage, …) This is any word or phrase which somehow points to how the situation is making you feel. If the situation is unpleasant to you, these words will probably be mostly “negative,” but don’t exclude, in this underlining part of the process, the “positive” ones.
Once you’ve done this, get a new piece of paper, and re-write these words/phrases you’ve just underlined in a column down the left-hand side of this new piece paper. And now for the most important step: for each word you’ve written down, ask yourself: “What would be, in this particular situation, the opposite of this word or phrase.” As you get these “opposites,” write them down in a column facing the first column … so each of your initial words or phrases is now directly across from its opposite word or phrase. For example: if one of your underlined words was “sadness,” you might choose “happiness” as its opposite; if one of your underlined words was “shame,” you might choose “blame” as your opposite, and so forth.
After you’ve written down an opposite for every one of your underlined words/phrases, go back and read the list of words/opposites again. And then (and here’s the yogic part!) acknowledge to yourself (and the universe) that all of these states of mind actually exist within you. That some have been conscious (the ones you initially wrote about), and others have been unconscious (their “opposites”), but now you’re choosing to become conscious of both pairs of opposites. When you do this, you “liberate” the energy that has been bound in the emotional or mental or physical pattern defined by these pairs of opposites … you allow unconscious “stuck-ness” to begin again to flow …
To end, sit quietly for a few minutes, and invoke the guidance of the invisible realms, in whatever way you’re comfortable doing this. Ask for the support of your angels or guides or God or Buddha or Whoever … in releasing this old pattern, and opening to receive the shifts of body, mind & spirit that will be forthcoming. Notice how you feel.
[If a pattern is a long-term one, you may have to repeat this process, again and again, for weeks or months or years … But each time you do it, the “stuck-ness” will be unraveled a bit, until finally you’re completely free of it. For less-entrenched patterns, you’ll notice a strong shift after just one or two rounds!]
Once you’re comfortable with the Polarity Processing technique, you can deepen this work by learning a couple of more advanced practices ~ call “Squares” and “Triangles” ~ which build on the Polarity Processing work, and are focused in a more specific way on the physical and emotional bodies. Learn more about these techniques at the CoreLight.org website.
Blessings!
Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website at http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger.
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Yoga Techniques on the Loose
By Mark Wilkins
If you are doing yoga, there are some yoga techniques you need to understand and apply. No one can run away and be free from major illnesses so the best way to get away with it is to exercise in order to maintain good health.
Yoga is considered to be the most effective way to stay fit and healthy. The best thing about it is you can have it at home or anywhere you want it. You also buy your time because you can do it any time of the day.
A lot of people prefer doing yoga to maintain a good and healthy life.
Fitness is important in doing yoga. Yoga techniques are helpful in maintaining good organs and other parts of the body such as the muscles, joints, glands, tissues and vital organs. These are the main focus of setting yoga techniques.
Here are some yoga techniques that you can practice during your yoga session. Despite your busy schedule or the crowed place you stay at, keeping up with these yoga techniques will help you go through it.
The five yoga techniques include: posture, relaxation, meditation, deep breathing and movement of joints. Each technique has its own role and function.
The movement of joints is called the 'sandhichalana'. This is one of the yoga techniques that focus on the joints. The joints undergo full movements which include the movement of the hands, movement of the neck and the movement of the lower limb.
In relaxation, there are some yoga techniques that will deepen your concentration and prevent your attention to be drawn easily. Rather, now withdraw at all.
The Hong-Sau is a Yoga technique that helps and focuses on the latent powers of your concentration. This technique helps you to release thought and fight all distractions s that you can concentrate on the problem you are targeting. This helps you to develop Divine Consciousness which is from within.
The Aum Technique expands your awareness which is beyond the limitations that your body and mind creates. This helps you maintain a powerful meditation and gives you to personal experiences of what Divine consciousness brings.
There are some ancient yoga techniques that you can apply. Although there are a lot of yoga techniques to choose from, applying these techniques might nt be easy for you especially if you are a beginner.
In getting concentration during the yoga session, you can boost your awareness by thinking clearly of some creative ways on how you can be attentive in all situations. You should be able to figure out what makes you feel tense and how to release it.
After the heavy day of work, you should find new ways on how to stay peaceful and calm. Concentration is your best tool and guide.
The main objective of these yoga techniques is how to create your awareness for a satisfying relaxation. You should be able to find out how to effectively release the tension inside your body and where to release it. In order to do so, your mind, body and spirit should be at a high level.
Techniques are of course helpful but these are just a matter of front if you can’t apply it. The best way still is to have your own yoga techniques that will help you go through the process successfully.
Mark Wilkins writes articles on yoga for
http://www.bestyoga.info
For a Happier Healthier You!
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Yoga in Practice: Anger Management – Part 2
By Paul Jerard
(For Part 1 of this article, click here)
The next obstacle is self-righteousness or delusion. This is the belief that you are right, even though the universal laws of morality say you are wrong. How can genocide be justified? How can one race, or religion, justify alienating another? How can innocent civilians be slaughtered for retribution?
Sorry to bring up such extremes, but self-righteousness and delusion are the tools of intolerance. Intolerance always justifies itself, no matter how many martyrs perish. If you want to control anger, please discard intolerance and judgment of others.
Very often, anger is created within the ego and is a response to imaginary threats. This is most ironic, when a full blown conflict erupts over a perceived threat, which did not really exist. So how can this violent chain of events, within the mind, be prevented? How can the ego and intolerance be controlled? - Through self-realization - also known as, “Vichara.” This is not meditation, but a realization of “I am.” This is rational or logical thought, but true self-analysis requires time. For mankind to grasp collective sanity is a never- ending battle, but there is another way around this impasse.
This is the path of compassion or “Karuna”, forgiveness (Kshama), loving kindness, and friendship. Most people will respond in a similar fashion, but always be prepared to defuse hostilities with those who want to take every advantage and mistake kindness for weakness. This is another form of awareness, so be vigilant and observe others around you.
It is believed that when your brain becomes hot, you will not think logically. Drinking water and Pranayama will cool your brain. You may also want to engage in regular practice of Japa, meditation, prayer, and eat Sattvic food.
What about Hatha Yoga for anger management? In my experience, adolescent males have the greatest difficulty with anger management, but vigorous asana practice or Vinyasa helps them deal with rage and anger much better.
For two years, I taught Yoga classes within a local juvenile correctional facility. Some members of this group had serious issues with rage and anger. At first, there was some outright resistance to learning Yoga, even though they knew it would improve their lives.
Pranayama, relaxation, and meditation were difficult to teach, under these conditions, but they immediately caught on to Vinyasa. After the first two months of Vinyasa Yoga practice, many were able to relax and did meditate on their own.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
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Yoga in Practice: Anger Management – Part 1
By Paul Jerard
Yoga has been able to help many of mankind’s ailments, but what about anger management? How can Yoga prevent rage and the burning desire for revenge? Many people say: “Don’t get mad, get even.” Is this what we are talking about?
As any Yoga practitioner knows, Yoga has nothing to do with “getting even.” However, revenge has become “the special of the day.” Many people feel revenge is justified, and we all know that revenge is a result of anger - whether it is slow burning or instant.
As I have mentioned before, Yoga does not stop when you roll up your Yoga mat. Most of what you take care of on your Yoga mat is the physical aspect of Yoga. This is a wonderful thing, but the rewards of your practice should be carried with you wherever you go.
Very few of us can say we have not felt anger. Many people, who know me, think I do not feel anger. However, that is pure myth. The fact is anger can be held in check, and managed, by using the following methods from Yogic philosophy and the many different styles of Yoga.
See attachment for what it is, and remove yourself from it. In reality, we own nothing. We are attached to money, possessions, relationships, and loved ones. Does this mean we own them or have control of them? Only on a temporary basis do you have control - if the universe permits.
What am I talking about? If you faced a catastrophic disaster today, you could lose some, or all, of your perceived possessions. Restrain your feelings of possessiveness for everything. You are only the temporary custodian of your possessions in this life. Once you clearly see this, you can prevent anger that is wrapped around attachment.
Be aware of desire. It is good to better yourself, but do not let reckless desire run your life. There is nothing wrong with the desire to succeed; this is healthy, but when desire incites anger, we must place restraints on our desires.
This task will take some self-observation, and we must be honest with ourselves. For example: We have the desire to get to work on time, but should we use our car as a weapon on the way?
At first, this may sound ridiculous, but many people risk their lives in a frenzy of anger, just to get to work on time. They also risk the lives of everyone else on the road. This is only one small example of how anger and reckless desire are linked.
© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html
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Find And Maintain Your Perfect Weight: The Yoga of Mindful Eating
By Elizabeth Reninger
A common experience, among those who have practiced some form of yoga (or qigong or meditation) for a sustained period of time, is the experience of having ones weight stabilize, and maintain itself ~ almost magically ~ at the “perfect” level. This has certainly been my experience … Regardless of what I eat (and granted, my diet is, my most standards, quite a “healthy” one), my weight has appeared, over many years, to fluctuate no more than a couple of pounds in either direction. I don’t have scientific “proof” of this, since I almost never weigh myself on a scale … but it is my perception, which I’ve grown to trust. Basically, I feel comfortable in my body, and most of the time what I want to eat is what my body needs … After I’ve eaten what I have desired, I feel nourished, satisfied, and energized by those choices.
But this sort of natural equilibrium, around weight and food choices, for most people takes a while to cultivate. So, in the meantime, what to do about this eating thing? This body-weight thing? Based upon advice I’ve received, over the years and from people I trust, I’d like to present two practices: one very simple (in terms of its mechanics, at least); the other a bit more involved. What they have in common is this: you’re not required to change WHAT you eat, in any way. Sound intriguing? Read on … !
The first practice, designed specifically for those who would be healthier & happier if they weighed less than they do now, is to follow one simple “rule,” which is: don’t eat anything after 5 p.m. This is a strategy that was transmitted to me by one of my teachers (herself a yogini, in the Sikh tradition) in Chinese medical school. What she noticed was that, almost universally, those patients of hers who were able to do this one thing, did indeed lose the weight that they needed to, without doing anything else. The explanation for this (common to both the Chinese and the Ayurvedic medical models) is that our digestive “fire” is hottest at high noon, and from there begins its daily descent … reaching its low point at around midnight. To be in alignment with this natural cycle of our digestive system, it’s best to eat our largest meal at around noon, and definitely to avoid those fashionably late dinners, or midnight snacks. Now actually doing this may require some inconvenient if not downright painful (emotionally, socially) shifts & changes in your habitual eating patterns … But if you’re able to work through that piece of it, it’s a very simple thing!
A more involved meal-time practice ~ which still does not require you to change what you eat (though over time, this may indeed, and quite naturally, begin to happen) ~ is to bring a new level of mindfulness to the entire eating process. This sort of practice begins with the commitment to simply eat, when you’re eating, i.e. to avoid meal-time multi-tasking (you know: reading the paper, checking you email or voice messages, driving the kids to school at the same time as you’re having breakfast, lunch or dinner). Then, once you have your food on your plate, to pause for a moment or two to consider where the food has come from: to think of all the plants, minerals, animals and human beings without whom this food would not be here in front of you. So to remember: the farm-workers, the sunshine & minerals which were food to the plants that you’re about to consume, the plants which were food to the animals you’re about to consume, the workers in the supermarket and in the slaughterhouse … As we deepen this practice, we come to understand that the food we’re about to consume could not be here were it not for the entire universe! Then we say a prayer, of acknowledgement and of gratitude, for what we’re about to consume. This could be anything that you’d like it to be. A traditional prayer from the Hindu tradition is as follows (first in transliterated Sanskrit, then the English translation):
brahmaarpaNaM brahma haviH brahmaagnau brahmaNaa hutam.h .
brahmaiva tena gantavyaM brahmakarmasamaadhinaa ..
“A process of offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman, the instrument of offering is Brahman, the fire to which the offering is made is also Brahman. For such a one who abides in Brahman, by him alone Brahman is reached.”
The essential message of this prayer is: we and the food and the process of eating & drinking are all made of the same “stuff” … and as we come, directly, to realize this, we and our food and our entire world is revealed as Divine (Brahman). In other words: you are God, eating food which is God, which is digested by God, and if you really get this, you will have reached God!
So now ~ at long last! ~ we take our first bite … and chew it long enough to really taste it, and perhaps even long enough to notice how the taste changes as the food begins to break down in our mouths. And we allow ourselves to notice: is this an enjoyable or less-than-enjoyable taste? And allow ourselves to enjoy the whole process … and to marvel at its miracle: at some point (where exactly is that point?) this food ceases to be “food” and becomes part of “my” body!
These sorts of “mindfulness of eating” practices are a potent way of waking up the body’s own intelligence … and as such, are likely, over the long run, to have balancing and stabilizing affects on all of our physical (as well as emotional and spiritual) systems. Give it a try … and bon appetit!
Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology and Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. She is a student of Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and currently resides in Boulder, Colorado. For more of her essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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Resurrecting Your Sexuality: Two Yoga/Qigong Practices
By Elizabeth Reninger
The Taoist world-view, and its associated yoga/qigong practices, is based largely upon an understanding of the flow of energy, within and outside of the human body, and includes an understanding of sexual energy which is far more sophisticated than anything produced by western culture. Integral to this understanding are what are known as “The Three Treasures.” These Three Treasures represent three types (or vibratory frequencies) of energy found in the human body: (1) Jing, or generative energy, (2) Qi, or life-force energy, and (3) Shen, or spiritual energy. Fundamental to all qigong/Taoist yoga practice, including sexual/consort practices, is the waking up of Jing/generative energy and its subsequent transformation into Qi/life-force energy and Shen/spiritual energy. And then, conversely, the transformation of Shen into Qi into Jing. In other words, the Taoist practitioner cultivates the capacity to circulate energy freely between its various forms/frequencies: from the most primal/mundane to the most refined/ephemeral … and back again!
How exactly this happens is the subject of a vast field of enquiry & practice called Internal Alchemy. If you’re interested in reading about internal alchemy via classical Taoist texts, please see Eva Wong’s translations (from the Chinese into English): “Harmonizing Yin and Yang,” and “Holding Yin, Embracing Yang.” For a wonderful presentation of a sequence of qigong practices (which include sexual practices), please check out Eric Yudelove’s book “Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy.” In this and subsequent postings, I’ll be introducing some of these (and related) practices, but they’re best done in the kind of long sequence that Eric Yudelove lays out … and/or with the guidance of a flesh-and-blood teacher.
Here’s a simple practice that you can try: sit at the very edge of a firm straight-backed chair (a wooden kitchen chair is ideal), with your feet on the floor and your knees directly above your heels. Your sitting bones should be firmly planted on the chair, at the same time as most of the length of your thighs extends out in front of it. Place your hands, palms down, on the front of your thighs, in a way that allows your shoulders to be relaxed, and let your belly be soft. Take a couple of deep breaths, letting go of any tension you find in your face, jaw, or neck/throat. Smile gently. Then, as you exhale, hinge forward at your hips, bringing your head down toward the space between your knees. With the very next inhale, reverse the process so you’re once again sitting up-right. And repeat: exhale~down, inhale~up (like a crane, taking sips of water from a lake) … Do your best, with each forward rotation, to rest the entire front-side of your torso onto the front of your thighs. Continue for a minute or two, then pause again in the upright position, and notice how you feel.
The second part of the practice is done entirely from the upright position (still sitting right at the edge of the chair, with your feet planted firmly on the ground). It involves coordinating the movement of your breath with the movement of your attention. As you inhale, feel your sitting bones becoming more heavy, releasing more completely into the chair. (You can imagine that your sitting bones are two heavy diamonds, which you’re going to return to their home in the center of the earth.) As you exhale, feel a spaciousness, expansion & gentle effervescence at the center of your heart-space (that place behind the sternum/breastbone and in front of the thoracic spine). And repeat: inhale~sitting-bones heavy, exhale~heart-center spacious … Continue for a minute or two, then pause, and notice how you feel.
This simple practice, if done regularly, has the power to wake up fields of sensation which are quite interesting, and enjoyable … And can serve as a ground for the continuing cultivation of Jing, Qi & Shen: the Three Treasures which ~ from the point of view of Taoism ~ are the key ingredients of a healthy sexuality, among many other things …
Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more essays on yoga-related topics, please visit her website at http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger.
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Asanas To Help You Out From Your Backache
By Kevin Pederson
Yoga is very important in our daily life and it can create positive impact on your health. By doing some asanas would be very good for your back. As the lifestyle and the way of working has changed which causes many of these ailments. The food habits with high on fat, cholesterol and other unwanted things just add up to your ailments.
Yoga done helps in relaxing your body and creates harmony in your body. The process of yoga is the idea about well-being in this fast and overly paced life. It gives a therapeutic feeling once you are through with it. It makes you aware about your body and needs of stretching and stress free makes it very important for everyone to give it a try at least once.
Some common poses which can be tried by you to break-free from the backache. The very common and very easy asana is the Shav asana (also known as the Corpse position) this helps in relaxing your body by lying flat on your back and relieving you from all the stress and tension. You can also do the Spinal Twist which would help in easing your tension in the upper back and shoulders, the cat stretch or cobra which increases flexibility of your spine.
Some of the other poses are the Camel pose, Cow pose, Locust pose, Lotus pose, Forward Bend, Palm Tree pose and Fish pose all these poses helps in relieving the back pain you keep complaining about. Some other poses which would help you are the Headstand, inverted poses, aswini mudra, plough these all the different poses which can be done if causes of backache is by displaced organs, weak muscles, from menstruation and other problems. Other asanas are tadasana samastithi, tadasana urdhva hastasana, tadasana urdhva baddha hastasna.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz ,provides information on yoga for one and all who has any problems be it back or any other problems.
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Hot Yoga - Cleansing Your Mind, Body, and Soul Through Yoga
By Patrick Forbes
More than ever now there seems to be people with ailments and sicknesses that doctors can not cure. Even doctors claiming to be the best in their field cannot relieve their suffering.
It's obvious today's society is in need of a radical change.
Years ago I was very much in need of such a change. I was in terrible shape adn seemed to catch every little thing that came along. I felt miserable most of the time. And with little or no no energy I would feel my body growing weaker each and every day. I saw doctor after doctor but no one could tell me what was wrong with me.
I decided I try like many to self-heal myslef and tried everything I could get my hands on; herbs and vitamins, tonics and cleanses, massage, acupuncture, Reiki, Rolphing, Tai Chi, all promising optimum health. But it's when a friend invited me to partake in a hot-yoga session that my health and life eventually changed!
So what is Hot Yoga you ask? Well although Yoga may be a common phrase around the households of the world, rarely do people really know what it is.
Yoga has many different types and practices, and the one that really impacted my health is “Hot Yoga”. This is the nickname for Bikram yoga. This type of yoga was named after its creator, Bikram Choudury. The reason it is called hot yoga is because this form of yoga is practiced in hot rooms where the rooms are normally at an average temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit. This form of yoga focuses on balancing and stretching and is also used to create pressure in your body. This pressure is created by blocking the circulation and blood flow in your body with your stretching and then feeling the blood rush through your veins with the release of your stretch. You can feel your veins being flushed out and cleansed. This is one of the main points of hot yoga.
Hot yoga has 26 different poses for you to practice. And the reason that this is performed in a hot room is so that your entire body is warmed up which allows you to work deep into your muscles and tendons. This helps to heal and exercise your body inside and out. This type of yoga, like many others, is great for decreasing any chronic pains that you may have and even maintaining the health that you already have. With hot yoga you can reduce stress, lose weight and much more. You will find yourself in great physical and mental health by practicing hot yoga.
People tend to imagine yoga as something that is hard and painful, but you'd be surprised at how different it is to practice yoga in a hot room. The heat allows you to go deep into the yoga pose and saves your body from feeling any pain. You begin begin with the standing poses, backbends, forward bends, and then twists and once you reach the last of the 26 poses you feel like you have accomplished something amazing, which you have. Each of these poses are done twice and held for a certain amount of time. Depending on whether you are a beginner or a professional with yoga, these times will differ so that you do not injure yourself and you are familiar with the process. Each of these poses does not only work your muscles and limbs, but it also works on your organs and nervous system. Because hot yoga promotes sweat it's the perfect way to eliminate your inner toxins!
There are a few tips that you need to be aware of before you begin your hot yoga practice. This type of yoga includes an extreme amount of sweating. This means that it would be best for you to wear as little clothing as possible and clothing that you would be comfortable sweating in. Also because of all this sweating, it is important to drink plenty of water before beginning your hot yoga session.
If you are searching for your hot yoga studio there are a few things that you should look for. There are many hot yoga studios that are not certified by Bikram himself. This means that they are not authentic and may not follow the proper procedures. Before you sign up for any classes, you need to ensure that the studio has been certified by Bikram. This will ensure that you are getting the proper instruction that you require. Hot yoga is a great alternative method of healing and can help you make that healthy connection between your body, mind and soul. Yoga of all kinds can help you achieve this connection, but hot yoga does this in a more obvious and powerful way.
If you're already interested and curious about Yoga and are looking to start I highly recommend you try the cleansing power of Hot Yoga!
Fuel your mind, body and soul and come get the facts on your health and
wellness, nutrition and weight loss, stress and anxiety management and self
improvement at Health And
Wellness Center
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Benefits Of Yoga For Pregnancy
By Kevin Pederson
Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful things many women want to go through and are going through. It is something which many women look forward too and with the increasing joy there is also fear factor. Fear about your baby's health, a smooth delivery, mood swings, fatigue, morning sickness, constant craving for strange items, increasing weight and overall the feeling about pregnancy can be overwhelming.
Pregnancy is an ensemble of risk factors. With a living being in you, your body goes through lot of changes and these variations may have an impact on your body. There are increasing chances of you having high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, liver disease and many more. These all can be avoided by doing some yoga asanas and breathing exercises which would help in having smooth delivery. But before doing any of these exercises consult your doctor.
Yoga helps in avoiding high blood pressure and also tries to control your weight. Breathing exercise is very easy and can be easily done and one should avoid too many jerks and jumping in this condition. Some of the poses or asanas which pregnant ladies can do are Mountain yoga pose - beneficial for inciting strength, relaxing and providing strength, Triangle Yoga Pose- stretching your spine, tones up your spinal nerves, helps in your digestive system, Warrior yoga pose - which includes warrior I and warrior II, Standing side stretch - good for your stomach, arms and legs, Standing spread leg forward bend and Forward bend yoga exercise, Hero yoga pose, Cat pose, Fish pose, Headstand, Tree yoga pose and many more including Corpse pose.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz http://www.yogawiz.com, provides information on all the aspects of yoga, the importance of yoga in your daily life and curing your ailments.
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Intuition Through Yoga
By Santhanam Nagarajan
The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology defines Intuition as under:
Intuition: A mode of understanding or knowing characterized as direct and immediate and occurring without conscious thought or judgment. There are two distinct connotations which often accompany this term: a) that the process is unmediated and somehow mystical; b) that it is a response to subtle cues and relationships apprehended implicitly, unconsciously.
When you misplace an item, despite thinking sequentially through all the things you did earlier, you can’t remember where it is. But in the evening when you are relaxing suddenly you remember that the missed item is in your table drawer. Where did this flash of insight come from? It was generated by your right brain, using data supplied by your left.
The best known example of a scientist who intuitively perceived a theory is Albert Einstein. Explaining how Einstein perceived the idea, Peter Russell explains in his book, The Brain Book: “Einstein is a logical thinker. Yet his ideas initially came to him as pictures and images, and subsequently he put them into words and mathematical symbols. The theory was born when Einstein was lying on a grassy hillside one summer’s afternoon. He was gazing up at the sun through his eyelids, playing with the light came through his eyelashes, when he began to wonder what it would be like to travel down a light beam.
He lay there in a dream state letting his mind wander freely, imagining himself traveling down a light beam, when suddenly he realized, one almost has to say in a flash, just what it would be like. This realization was the essence of the theory of relativity, and it had come to him not as a logical deduction, but as a creative, intuitive insight, the result of synthetic rather than analytic thinking.”
Einstein recognized the intuition and placed a high value on his intuition and wrote: “The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”
Analyzing the whole subject intuition, in her beautiful book, ‘The Sixth Sense’ the author Laurie Nadel assures that one can develop the ability by following easy steps.
The important step to identify and develop intuition will be to meditate regularly.
Meditation activates both the right and left side of the brain.
Sudden flashes and logical thinking both are ensured by meditation.
Yogis visualize pictures through their meditation and foretell what is to happen to individuals.
Indian yogis, through their intuitive power had invented many wonderful inventions for the benefit of humanity as a whole.
Hundreds of incidents reveal their intuitive abilities and the whole humanity see them with wonder.
P.D.Ouspensky, in his book, ‘A New Model of the Universe’ says, ”The sage of India knew that the powers of man in all the spheres and provinces of his activity can be greatly increased by means of right training and by accustoming man to control his body, mind, attention, will, emotion and desires. In connection with this, the study of man in ancient India was on a level quite inconceivable to us. The powers which yoga gives are not limited to the strengthening of the capacity of understanding. Yoga increases the creative capacity of man in all spheres and domains of life, gives him the possibility of direct penetration into the mysteries of nature, discloses to him the secret of eternity and the enigmas of existence.”
S.Nagarajan is a vehicle body engineer by profession. He has written more than 1300 articles in 16 magazines and published 18 books so far. He is revealing Eastern Secret Wisdom through T.V.Programmes, magazine articles, seminars, courses. His email
address is: snagarajans@gmail.com.
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What Is Ashtanga Yoga?
By Kevin Pederson
In Sanskrit Ashta means eight and Anga means limbs so it can be termed as the eight limb path and is based on Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali. As history of yoga is very rich it helps people in all its manner and this is one of its form which is also known as Power Yoga. Each of the eight limbs has an important part to play for a better and healthy living looking ahead to make life less stressful and happy.
The eight limbs which signify Ashthanga Yoga are
1. Yama - It reflects the moral and ethical grounds of human behavior
Ahimsa: Non-violence
Satya: Truthfulness
Asteya: No stealing
Brahmacharya: Celibacy
Aparigraha: Non-covetousness or Envy or possessiveness
2. Niyama - It reflects the disciplines one has to go through their human life
Shoucha - Purity
Santosh - Contentment
Tapa - Endurance
Swadhyaya- Self study
Eshwar Pranidhan- Dedication towards god
3. Asana: It is the practice of asana for better well-being in your body and soul
4. Pranayama: Breathing exercises a way to attain control on your breathing pattern
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses, which would mean total cut off from the outside world and the concentration level increases in making your mind a haven for all the positive energy.
6. Dharana: Concentration, something which would help you to concentrate without any level of distraction.
7. Dhyana: Meditation and concentration on things which are your main objective but also being done on a wider perspective.
8. Samadhi: Attainment a state of joy and bliss which is based on your skills of dhyana and realizing the purity of your life and the importance in life as whole. It can also be stated as enlightenment.
Kevin Pederson, the webmaster for Yogawiz, on all aspects of yoga and to know about the different types of yoga like ashthanga yoga.
http://www.yogawiz.com
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Theory of the Kleshas: a Yogic Understanding of Human Suffering (and Liberation!)
By Elizabeth Reninger
One of the foundational texts of the Yoga Tradition is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. It is here (among other places) that the Yogic understanding of the origins of human suffering (and Liberation) is offered in the form of what is know as the Theory of the Kleshas.
According to Patanjali, human suffering has its origin in Avidya (the first Klesa), the ignorance that arises when the soul – in its descent into matter – forgets its divine origin. This forgetting gives rise to the second Klesa, Asmita, or the identification of the soul with its vehicles (the various “bodies,” including the most dense, or “physical,” that we inhabit in our journey through manifestation). This false identification operates through the mechanism of the third and fourth Klesas, Raga and Dvesa, desire and fear. And it is here that we see the basic mechanism through which our bodyminds (our thoughts, words, & actions) operate dualistically . . . for desire/fear (Raga/Dvesa) is simply the most basic of the polarities, or sets of opposites, which define the terrain of human existence in its conditioned state. The fifth Klesa is Abhinivesha, or the desire (of the body/vehicle or ego) for its life, i.e. the desire to perpetuate, and fear of losing, its (illusory) “existence.” This fifth Klesa defines the basic obstacle to reversing this process (the necessary first step for entering the path to Liberation), namely the attachment we have to the “life” of the structure created by the various polarities, whose dissolution we experience as “death.”
So what, then, is the solution? How does one reverse this process, dissolve the polarities, re-member one’s Svarupa, or True Nature – and in the process activate a True Form, i.e. a set of vehicles enlivened by Virtues/Deities/geometries that grow out of and are nourished by the uninterrupted remembrance of their divine origin (by the radiant Core of our Being, whose yogic metaphor is the Shushumna Nadi)? Now Patanjali, of course, has an answer (which he lays out in the remainder of The Yoga Sutras ~ check it out!), as do countless other Saints, Sages and Teachers from various wisdom traditions.
The solution I’ve chosen to work with, in my own practice, is a distillation of sorts, from the wellspring of these Eastern traditions, of a set of techniques designed specifically for the Western mind, based solidly in an understanding that it is in the resolution of opposites that one finds the key to beginning this journey homeward. These “polarity processing” techniques (a “basic” technique as well as variations on it designed specifically to address issues at the level of the physical and emotional bodies) were given by Spirit to Leslie Temple-Thurston, and are described in her book The Marriage Of Spirit. (Please see my previous post describing this method!) Within the realm of yoga asana, Richard Freeman is someone whose teaching method/philosophy is based at least in part upon a resolution of opposites: a practice which looks to “marry” opposing physical/energetic movements/patterns within the context of specific asanas … and in so doing guide awareness continually back into the Shushumna Nadi, and from there allow asanas in their “True Forms” to express.
Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu forms ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more yoga-related essays, and poetry, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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