SPLENDOR OF YOGA --PART -- 17

YOGA POWERS

FITNESS FRENZY

YOGA IS THE GLOBAL MANTRA FOR THAT FABULOUS, LEAN, TONED AND SCULPTED BODY

LET’S JUST ADMIT IT; there’s something about a show-stopping celebrity that makes one long to be in his or her shoes……..at least once in a lifetime. Perfection personified, a beautiful, million-dollar body graced by an even more enticing face -- who wouldn’t want to be oh-so-gorgeously endowed? Whether it’s going gaga over their impossibly sculpted bodies or dreaming of toning up those loose ends to make heads turn, the operating word this season is YOGA.

Far from confines of trusted gymnasiums, youngsters have now started embracing YOGA as a complete package, a dual therapy of sorts that promises both fitness and happiness.

This also means that the therapies aka Power Plates and Pilates have made way for yoga and its bliss.

Its common knowledge that once you go to the gym, flexibility goes for a toss. You will always need yoga to regain that flexibility. To add to it, people who are constantly on the move or lead extremely fast-paced lives may not be able to accommodate the workout that a gym offers. By the time you’re done with it you have no energy to move on to the next thing on hand. WITH YOGA, IT’S THE ABSOLUTE REVERSE. You feel refreshed internally and externally and can immediately start jet-setting through life.

When it comes to women, yoga is definitely the discipline to opt for. Yoga can be practiced at anytime and anywhere, even during hectic schedules. In comparison to a regular workout in the gym, you will not feel fatigued.


FIND YOUR SPIRITUAL ENERGY

1) MEDITATE: Meditation is one of the best ways to help you understand your spiritual energy and tap into it. Meditation will also help you in your quest to find the right spiritual path. As you clear your mind, the answers to some of the most difficult questions can become clear. If you focus on spiritual energy within yourself, you will see the correct path.

2) PRAYER: Spiritual prayer is another way to tap into your spiritual energy. Prayer renews your faith and increases the strength of your spiritual energy tenfold. Take the path that will help you the most in your life. While the answer may not always be what you feel it should be, you will accept it.

3) NO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS: It’s easy to get depressed. Often our minds are overtaken by negative thoughts which can easily deplete our spiritual energy. It’s easy to feel yourself pulled off of your spiritual path. Shrug off negative thoughts and surround yourself with positive friends and influences.

SPLENDOR OF YOGA -- PART -- 16

LAUGHTING IS ALSO ANOTHER GIFT OF NATURE’S EXERCISE DICTIONARY………LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Researchers have found that laughter improves our mood, reduces anxiety, eases stress and adds years to our life.

The best things in life may not be free, but there is one thing which can do wonders, and it cost nothing – laughter. The adage “laughter is the best medicine” holds very much true even today.

Researchers have found that laughter improves our mood, reduces anxiety, eases stress, and is associated with creativity and emotional stability. Laughter helps lower blood pressure, adds years to our life and also helps one distress. SO WHY NOT LAUGH and through ALL OUR WORRIES AWAY.

A new study from the University of Maryland Medical Centre has shown that laughter, along with a healthy sense of humor is good for our heart.

Even though scientists yet to know why laughing protects the heart, but they have noted that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack. But scientists know that during laughter, hormones are released in the body which relax the mind and body. There is decrease in hormones which produce stress hormones adrenaline and steroids. There is also release of hormones dopamine and serotonin, which provides us with a feeling of well-being.

There are several laughter clubs in the world, even though it may be mechanical laughter, they help people distress and relax. Once there is decrease in stress hormones, there is reduction in diseases like heart problems, blood pressure and diabetes.

READ BOOKS..........BE FIT AND FINE.

When you start reading a book, you will sit properly, which is nothing but a Meditative posture. Then while reading your breathing will be regulated, which is good for the body and the mind. Finally, by concentrating on the book, you will reach a state of meditation. Some consider books more valuable than any thing. So, when you feel pressure, stressed frustrated or uneasy.....Start reading a book. Even the book has already been read by you, read again.

SPLENDOR OF YOGA -- MORE INFORMATION --THINK IT OVER

ENERGY CAN BE GIVEN TO ANOTHER
Modern day psycologists have proved that more than 80 per cent of diseases are psycosomatic. They originate from the mind and then come to the body. The root is the mind, not the body. In the body there are energy centres that get locked when the disease takes the root. If you can get the right technique to remove the blockage, the disease disappears.
But some of us may not be able to get the right technique and find time to meditate or may not be able to make enough energy to put in to meditation. For those kinds of people, somebody else who is a meditator, who is a master of meditation can meditate and pass the energy to the energy centres of the person who is suffering.
Here comes the question: How can energy be given?....There are few people who are ready to believe that energy can be created by meditation; but they are not ready to believe that energy can be given by somebody else.
Einstein says, "Whatever exists is energy." After Einstein's theory, many scientists have turned towards spirituality. Einstein, through his formula E=mc2, says that there is know borderline between matter and energy. The solid energy is matter;subtle matter is energy.
Matter and energy are one and the same in two different levels. Classical physicists declared that there are two states in an atom; one is static and the other is moving. Later, the understanding is changed to the same particle being static at one time and moving at another. Today, the understanding is the particle is static and moving at the same time. There is no space
or time gap. Therefore, whatever you call matter is nothing but energy; whatever you call energy is nothing but matter.
Whatever exists is energy. So, if matter can be given to somebody else, why not energy? If one give his glass to you, why can't he give energy also? Only thing one should know while giving is the right time and the right method of giving it. If a person knows the right technique of channelling and giving energy, it can be given and can be taken also.
The science of giving energy to the person who is in need of it is what spiritual healing is all about. It is a balance of the energy flow in the person's system so that his system heals itself.
Spiritual healing is channellng and radiating univesal cosmic energy. it is an easy and effortless meditation for the healer initiated by an enlightened master while energy is channelled into the person receiving the healing.
RELIEVE YOURSELF FROM ANXIETY,STRESS AND DEPRESSION.
BREATHING EXERCISES
Take a moment to close your eyes and focus only on breathing. Inhale slowly through your nose. Feel your diaphragm move up into your ribcage and extend your belly outward as you inhale. Each breath should take six seconds to cmplete. Spend three seconds slowly inhaling through your nose and the other three seconds slowly exhaling through your mouth.
LISTEN TO MUSIC
Sit back and relax with your favorite tunes. If you are feeling nostalgic, put on something that will transport you toanother place in time. Escape and think of nothing but the music. Try to play songs with a positive or uplifting message.
MEDITATE ON GRATITUDE
Take a few minutes to think about all the things you are greatful for. It could be as simple as feeling grateful for the food in your fridge or the way your puppy loves you. Take the time to appriciate as all the gifts you have in life and how lucky you are to have them. When you acknowledge the good in your life, more good will attract itself to you.

HAPPY 2009

AS THIS YEAR DRAWS TO AN END, I WANT TO THANK ALL THE SPECIAL PEOPLE WHO TOUCHED MY LIFE WITH THEIR LOVE & CARE AND MADE MY LIFE MORE MEANINGFUL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO MY LIFE. MAY GOD CONTINUE TO GIVE YOU ABUNDUNT HAPPINESS IN THE COMING NEW YEAR 2009 & ALLWAYS.
BEST WHISHES FOR 2009.....THANKS.

WE NEED CHANGE
CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT. I INVITE YOU, THE READER OF THIS BLOG TO TELL ME WHAT DIRECTION CHANGE SHOULD TAKE TO MAKE THIS WORLD BETTER AND PROSPEROUS IN 2009.....SHARE YOUR IDEAS WITH THIS WORLD....IT WILL BE PUT IN THIS BLOG. MAIL TO ME AT:
vijayaveen123@yahoo.com

SPLENDOR OF YOGA -- MORE INFORMATION

PHYSICAL EXERCISE.......YOGA AND MEDITATION.
Physical exercise is manual activity that develops or maintains physical fitness and overall health. It is often practiced to strengthen muscles and the cardiovascular system, and to hone athletic skills. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent diseases of affluence such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.It is also improves mental health and helps prevent depression.
Types of exercise.
Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body: Flexibility exercises such as stretching improve the range of motion of muscles and joints.Aerobic exercises such as cycling, walking, running, hiking, and playing tennis focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance.Anaerobic exercises such as weight training, functional training or sprinting increase short-term muscle strength.Exercise benefitsPhysical exercise is important for maintaining physical fitness and can contribute positively to maintaining a healthy weight; building and maintaining healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint mobility; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical risks; and strengthening the immune system.
Frequent and regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help prevent or treat serious and life-threatening chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, and depression. Strength training appears to have continuous energy-burning effects that persist for about 24 hours after the training, though they do not offer the same cardiovascular benefits of aerobic exercises. Exercise can also increase energy and raise one's threshold for pain.
There is conflicting evidence as to whether vigorous exercise (more than 70% of VO2 Max) is more or less beneficial than moderate exercise (40 to 70% of VO2 Max). Some studies have shown that vigorous exercise executed by healthy individuals can effectively increase opioid peptides (aka endorphins, a naturally occurring opiate that in conjunction with other neurotransmitters is responsible for exercise induced euphoria and has been shown to be addictive), positively influence hormone production (i.e., increase testosterone and growth hormone).benefits that are not as fully realized with moderate exercise.
Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functioning via improvement of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning, and enhancement of synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis.In addition, physical activity has been shown to be neuroprotective in many neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases.For instance, it reduces the risk of developing dementia.Physical activity is thought to have other beneficial effects related to cognition as it increases levels of nerve growth factors, which support the survival and growth of a number of neuronal cells.
Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise also work to increase the mechanical efficiency of the heart by increasing cardiac volume (aerobic exercise), or myocardial thickness (strength training).
Not everyone benefits equally from exercise. There is tremendous variation in individual response to training: where most people will see a moderate increase in endurance from aerobic exercise, some individuals will as much as double their oxygen uptake, while others will never get any benefit at all from the exercise.Similarly, only a minority of people will show significant muscle growth after prolonged weight training, while a larger fraction experience improvements in strength. This genetic variation in improvement from training is one of the key physiological differences between elite athletes and the larger population.
EXERCISE AND BRAIN FUNCTION.
In the long term, exercise is beneficial to the brain by: increasing the blood and oxygen flow to the brain increasing growth factors that help create new nerve cells increasing chemicals in the brain such as dopamine, glutamate, norepinephrine and serotonin that help cognition.
ALL THAT EXPLAINED ABOVE ARE THEIR IN YOGA AND MEDITATION AND WILL GET BENIFITED .

SPLENDOR OF YOGA -- PART -- 15

SOME SIMPLE MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

PRACTICE "STOPPING"
When you stop, first physically and then through mindfulness of breathing, mentally you give yourself the possibility to catch up with yourself. In our hectic lifestyle at times, we can totally ignore how our body feels, how our mind and emotions are doing and be unaware of accumulated anxiety and stress. So, by stopping, you can begin to restore the important communication with your own self.
For example: When the phone rings, we let it ring three times and while it does so we consiously stop all other activity and come back to our physical body by breathing in and out. This way we use the telephone as means to cultivate peace, calmness and awareness. Similarly, using the computer at home or at work, we must take a short break every 45 minutes. Take a short break for five minutes and move away from the computer or just relax on your chair.Take couple of deep breaths in, relax and feel happy. Doing this will help you have more energy. This also gives you a better sense of how to continue your work.

(MY HONEST REQUEST TO ALL COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS AND SOFTWARE PROGRAMME MANUFACTURERS TO INCORPORATE A BELL RING SOUND IF AND WHEN A PERSON USES THE COMPUTER CONTINUEOUSLY FOR AN HOUR....A BELL RING TONE SHOULD ALERT THE USER TO REALX FOR 5 MINUTES. THIS WILL HELP MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD)

WALKING "MEDITATION"
This can be simple meditation. We walk very often, so we can easily use this as meditation. We need to slow down 50 -- 70 per cent and take gentle steps on the earth. We must allow our attention to go to the soles of our feet, allowing our energy to come down from heads to our belly and our feet. We may realise that while we are walking slowly, we are at the same time breathing in and out, and we may use this awareness to allow our minds to focus on this activity of walking slowly and being aware of our breathing.

DEEP "RELAXATION"
Lie down for 20 minutes. Take a break; sometimes the activities of the day deplete our energy. Take these 20 minutes for your own self to come back to your body, feeling any area where they may be tension, allowing your breathing in to expand your abdonimal area and letting go with breathing.
Enjoy some moments of silence, inner and outer. Slowly your body and then your mind will respond to this technique.

SPLENDOR OF YOGA -- PART -- 14

MEDITATION CAN CURE DEPRESSION.
MEDITATION HELPS Control long-term depression as well as prescription drugs....according to a new research. British researchers in a study, published in the JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY revealed that a psychological therapy, which included a range of MEDITATION EXERCISES are as effective in combating long-term depression as medication. In fact, the quality of life is much better....the study said that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) was as effective as maintenance anti-depressents in preventing a relapse and more effective in enhancing the patients quality of life. The study also showed that therapy was cost-effective as prescription drugs in helping people with a history of depression stay well in the longer-term.

CONNECT MIND WITH BODY TO BE HAPPY.
"Happiness is here and now, I have dropped my worries, nowhere to go and nothing to do, I don't need to hurry. Happiness is here and now, I have dropped my worries, nowhere to go and nothing to do,I don't need to hurry".....This is a practice song which enables us to live like free individuals and helps in embodying peace within...said Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen
master.
Despite materialistic acquisitions, many feel lonely, waiting for someone or something beyond our inner-self to bring us happiness. Sometimes we have all the comforts, but our spirit is empty and we feel incomplete. At the same time there are others who have limited comforts yet they seem to be content with life. We might think somany other things can cure loneliness, but seldom we realise that there are just another way of covering up the emptiness within us.

So, how can a person fill this emptiness within?..... Just hold this feeling of isolation tenderly, without judgement or shame and practice "mindfulness". Mindfulness meditative techniques in daily life have benefited many around the world. Mindfulness is a way to return to yourself and recognize solitude. It's a way to come back to your breathing and aware of the wonderful elements within and around you. mindfulness teaches you to be aware that your loved ones are still with you and it makes you sensitive towards the wonders of nature surrounding you. And with acceptance, this loneliness becomes your friend. Rather than running away from loneliness, we must begin tomake peace and reconciliation within ourselves, which can help us
connect with others in a healthy way and inturn it allows us to connect our body with mind.