The Historical Origins of Yoga

Today’s society is much faster paced that ever before.  People have more stress problems which lead to more health problems, mental and physical.  There are more concerns with toxicity in the food we eat and the air we breathe.  Millions of Americans today live a sedentary lifestyle, which is associated with obesity.  The body, the cavities of our soul, was not meant to deteriorate in such a way that leads to disease.  Yoga was developed over 5,000 years ago in India and it included spiritual beliefs, physical techniques, and scholarly philosophy.

There is a growing trend to practicing Yoga for many different reasons, which include attaining the yoga body or physique, relaxation and peace of mind, or to prevent injury and ailments.  Americans mainly practice Hatha Yoga, which focuses on postures and stretching the body.

Yoga, which is derived from the sacred Sanskrit language of India, meaning *union* or *to yoke or harness*.  Yoga is a way or path to transcendence and liberation from the self and the ego by purifying the mind and body.  Practicing yoga leads to a union with the mind and body or the individual and universal consciousness.  In other words, yoga is the union with the Individual Self and the Universal Self.  Yoga predates all other religions and has influenced and inspired many other traditions and philosophies.  Yoga is better understood as a union of the physical, physiological, mental, emotional, and intellectual bodies, which leads to a purposeful and balanced life.

There is simply no other discipline quite like yoga because it utilized the body, mind and spirit, all in one practice.  Yoga is indeed a spiritual path that is based on ancient sacred philosophy, but one does not need to make an ethical decision when practicing yoga, rather finding your own path is wholly accepted.  The holistic benefits of yoga are suitable for the young or old, sick or well, with any religious background.  The secrets of yoga are inwardness, concentration, and purification of mind and body with cleansing thoughts and food. Indian philosophy states that within man is the spirit that is the center of everything.  *Internal equilibrium is the basis and the ground for the higher illumination,* The cultural Heritage of India (Vol. I) - published by The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata, India

Easy Body Exercies to Increase Mind Power

For thousands of years, physical disciplines like yoga, Tai Chi and Sufi Dancing have been said to increase mental and spiritual powers. If this is true, how might one explain this, and even better, how can we use this fact, practically, to enhance our lives as artists, business people, parents, and partners?

First, we have to strip away the mysticism from the activity. Not that these activities have no esoteric aspect, but rather that we have to approach them on the most down-to-earth level. The higher the tree, the deeper the roots. The taller the building, the deeper the foundations. If you want to soar, be certain that your tether is strong. So we need to start with a simple, physiological explanation (if possible!) and then suggest a way that this ties in to advanced artistic accomplishment, relationship skills, intellectual clarity, and spiritual growth.

Perhaps the single most important in terms of Body-Mind is known as the “Flow State Performance Spiral.” In order to relate this breakthrough thinking in such a short essay, we’ll have to condense considerably:

1) All physical technique is composed of three aspects: breathing, movement, and structure.

2) Each of these aspects is controlled by the other two (breath is created by movement and structure, etc.)

3) Stress “dis-integrates” this structure. In other words, when you are under stress, the physiological signs will manifest in your breathing rate or shallowness, your posture, your muscle tension. This is why lie detectors work!

Before he died, Hans Selye, the creator of the “stress” concept, said that he had misspoken himself, that it is not stress that hurts us, it is strain. Stress is the pressure we are under. But strain is the degree to which that stress warps us out of true.

Stress is not the enemy. In fact, when handled healthfully, it is the primary trigger for growth. So the key is to avoid strain.

Let’s skip around a bit to a truth about artistic and intellectual pursuits: your ability to utilize your intelligence, education, skills or talents will be in direct proportion to your ability to maintain “flow” under stress. Or to put it another way, in life, we are rewarded for how much stress we can handle without folding. Writer’s block, for instance, is nothing but a poor reaction to performance stress.

Combining these ideas, what we have is that mental and emotional balance under stress leads to excellence. Combine this with the fact that learning to cope with physical stress develops skills that are tremendously applicable to the mental arena. The most vulnerable portion of the “Flow State” triad (breath, movement, structure) is breathing. Proper breathing will be degraded by stress before you can detect it in posture or muscle tension. This is one of the reasons breath control is addressed in most religions and spiritual disciplines, whether this is through pranayama (yoga), exercise, hymns, ritual prayers, dance, or sacred postures.

A good yoga teacher, for instance, will place the student in a posture sufficiently extreme to force total concentration. When the student learns to relax and focus, that posture becomes relatively easy, and a more extreme posture is given. The point is to teach the student to monitor their own internal process. Fine martial arts or breathing meditation teachers use similar techniques.

The student learns to recognize the early signs of strain, and to dissipate them. NOTHING in life creates more stress than lack of oxygen, and learning to remain calm in the midst of oxygen debt will teach you to remain calm when the children are screaming, when your boss is on the rampage, when someone cuts you off on the freeway.

Or when you have a writing deadline, or when insecurity and fear hammers at the door of your resolve.

Deliberately practicing a physical discipline to enhance this quality of calmness and centeredness, while simultaneously working toward goals balanced in body, mind, and spirit, exposes you to the currents of life while helping you develop the skills and strategies necessary to excel. This, over time, leads to excellence, even in a purely mental arena.

There are numerous disciplines that will teach proper breathing under stress, and this article has listed a few. If you wish to reach your maximum potential as a mental, spiritual, and emotional being, seek one of these techniques out, and integrate it into your life. It is one of the best investments you could ever make in your future.

Advanced Yoga Demonstration with Urban Yogi Bri

As it is generally admitted by yoga practitioners and yoga trainers, yoga sessions are very much about self equilibrium, peacefulness and meditation. By practicing meditation we can all reach the sublime state of learning the purpose of our existence and maximizing our will to reach it. 

Studies have proven that meditation highly contributes to both physical and psychological well-being, which is why yoga routines consider the practice of meditation as one of its main principles. 

Reducing physical pain, stress and blood pressure, meditation promotes a state of mind, by which we can achieve self-healing. Due to all these uncontestable benefits that this practice involves, there is a great variety of information available in different formats, regarding the most efficient meditation techniques, postures, courses, products and forums. 

Religion and psychology promote meditation as well, as a way of assessing our actions and seeking self improvements. As many theories and ancient believes demonstrate, our present life is determined by our previous actions, which is why it is vital to analyze and meditate on the things we do, in order to find ways of improving ourselves and thus, creating a brighter future.

Meditation is definitely one of the main principles of yoga, as it has been verified that it is a trustworthy tool to use for achieving mental clarity and health. A very important thing to know is the fact that there are various types of meditation exercises, designed for advanced or beginner yoga students. Thus, you have to carefully analyze all details and information provided on each and every one of these techniques and exercises, so that you obtain the maximum results, from your meditation routines. 

Despite the fact that many people believe that, just like breathing, meditation is something that comes naturally and cannot be taught, there are a few aspects of this process, which can increase your efficiency and your results, in no time. One of the aspects you have to bear in mind is the time of the day when you carry out your yoga meditation; hence, it would be perfect if you could do it either in the morning or late in the evening, as during those particular moments of the day, the atmosphere is charged with a high level of spiritual energy.

Here is some advice regarding meditation:

• Before starting the meditation session free your mind of all worries. 
• Try to locate a quiet place, where you are not likely to be disturbed. 
• It is recommended to choose the same moment of the day, as well as the same place, for your meditation routine. 
• Focus on meditation; do not let your mind get lost in other thoughts.
• Try to follow a pattern when breathing. 
• Your head, back and neck have to be placed in a perfect straight line.

Remember that it is crucial both to perform the meditation session and to observe the results, in order to get close to experiencing the supreme synchronization between the body and the spirit.

What is Qi Gong - How to use Qi Gong Exercises to improve your life

What is Qi Gong and how can you use it in your daily life to improve your health, fitness and well being? Can anyone do Qi Gong? Is Qi Gong the same thing as Chi Gung? In this short video we take a look at what Qi Gong is all about, the benefits and the different ways you can practice at home. Qi Gong is all about Chi and energy flow. 

How to Meditate in a loud noisy enviornment

The first thing any meditation text will tell you is to find a quiet place with little or no distractions. In a perfect world, these silent places would exist for everyone. But, in many people’s lives, distractions are the rule rather than the exception.

Let’s face it; life is hectic these days. If you share your home with children, parents, or roommates, you have built-in distractions at every turn. Whether it’s the television, earsplitting music, or just loud conversation, you may not be able to get a moment’s peace in your home no matter how hard you try.
You may ask, “How can I possibly meditate under these conditions?”

Unfortunately, many people just give up. They feel the noise and distractions in their lives make it impossible for them to enjoy the advantages of a daily meditation practice, which include stress-relief, mental relaxation, and physical rejuvenation. Ironically, these are exactly what we all need in these stressful, hectic times.

Well, the good news is, you can! The method I’ll describe has been effective for me and many of my friends and associates. It takes practice though; along with acceptance, patience, and perseverance. Here’s how it works:

The key to meditating in a noisy environment is to change the way you think about noise. Rather than letting the external sounds distract you from your meditation, use them in your meditation.

Try this: Sit calmly and just listen to the noise around you. Let the sounds fill your head. Focus on the tones and vibrations of the sound rather than their origin.
All sound—whether distracting like a television, a baby crying, a dog barking—or calming like ocean waves or a running stream—are just vibrations. If you break the noise down to its components, you can focus on the deep underlying vibrations and actually enhance your meditative state. If a sound is a sound is a sound, then this sound could easily be comforting rather than annoying.

• Acceptance – You can’t make the noise go away. You could try ignoring it but this is usually futile. You could try blocking it out with music but you will find that lulls in the music will allow the outside noises back in. The intermittent nature of this can prove to be even more distracting. You may even find yourself dreading the soft parts of the music or the silence between songs. In order to meditate in this kind of environment, you have to acknowledge the unwanted sounds in your space and understand that you must coexist. If you can accept them and are determined to meditate “with” them, not in spite of them, they lose the power to control your life.
• Patience – Give yourself a break. Don’t expect to be able to do this right away or 100% of the time. Be patient with yourself and realize that ALL meditation is about catching the mind wandering and bringing it back to your “object of meditation.” If you feel you’re getting frustrated with yourself because the sounds are still annoying you, pat yourself on the back instead and accept that you are only human. Just smile and focus back on your meditative mind, you will eventually succeed and—believe me—it will be worth the effort.
• Perseverance – Don’t give up. There will be times, especially at first, when you just can’t help being annoyed by the unwanted sounds. You’re non-meditative mind will “know” that these sounds are distracting and it will naturally want to be distracted. Just focus as best you can for your meditation session and come back tomorrow and try again. You’ll find that the meditative mind will start to learn that these sounds are part of the process and it will become easier and easier to reach your meditative state.

So, if your life is full of noise and distraction, you don’t have to give up on a healthy meditation practice. Try the method above and see if it works for you. I sincerely hope this information helps because I strongly believe everyone should include meditation in their daily lives regardless of their living situation.

Shaolin Kung Fu and Meditation Explained

Shaolin kung fu is not just about defending yourself against an attacker or inflicting bodily harm. Shaolin martial arts also stress discipline, respect for yourself and others, patience, and being humble even in victory. The mental training of Shaolin martial arts helps prepare the student for any events that may come. Being physically prepared for an altercation is good, but if you are not mentally prepared you will not be focused enough to use the tools that your body has. This is why Shaolin meditation is such an important part of the Shaolin martial arts training. Meditation may not be literally practicing your physical tools, but it allows your mind to make better use of those tools.

Keeping cool in a self defense situation is one of the best ways to ensure you will survive. Tough mental preparedness allows the body to be pushed beyond its physical limits. Out bodies can only do so much, but our minds allow for much greater feats. I am sure you have heard of "mind over matter" and the truth is that it works. When the Shaolin added mental training to their physical training the result was that their martial arts system obviously surpassed all others in application and practical results.

One form of Shaolin meditation is called "Chan" or "Zen". The Shaolin received the concept of Zen meditation from an Indian priest named Bodhidharma. What Bodhidharma did that was so unique was to introduce breathing patterns into the meditation. You see Bodhidharma would find that the Shaolin monks were falling asleep during their meditation, so he added the breathing exercises to help keep them focus on increase their mental development. To this day Shoalin Kung Fu practitioners still use Chan meditation and it has formed the basis of the Shaolin mental preparation and development.

The Shaolin monks would prepare their minds to withstand the most terrible conditions so that when faces with those conditions in the real world, they would be prepared instead of shocked. Knowing that you have the mental toughness and readiness instills a confidence that allows you to go into any situation ready to act without hesitating. Self doubt is the number one way to be defeated before the enemy has even thrown a punch.

Meditation also allows one to focus his inner energy into his actions. The Japanese call this Chi, and many Westerners have heard of it. The Chinese, however, call it Kiai. Kiai allows a Kung Fu student to do things their physical body alone cannot do. Developing control over your Kiai is a matter of intense mental strength and conditioning. While some people may scoff at the idea of Kiai, and it is true that it might be more of a mind over matter application than an actual force, but Chinese Kung Fu masters has demonstrated their control over their Kiai by doing physical feats that would otherwise be impossible.

What is Zen Meditation Explained

Things You Should Know About Zen Meditation

We all have to deal with stress from either work or school. You can’t close your eyes to make it go away but you can find peace so you can deal with it. One technique that can offer this is called Zen meditation. 

Zen meditation is often referred to as the study of the self. It involves sitting in various postures so you are able to bring the mind and body to a peaceful and stable condition.  This happens as you focus on images and thoughts that just pop up as your heart rate slows down until you reach a reflective state of meditation. 

One of the best seating positions to do this is called the Burmese position. There is also the full lotus, half lotus, kneeling or “seiza” posture and sitting on a chair. 

The key here is to keep your back straight so that your deep breathing will go naturally. This allows more oxygen to enter that will help cleanse and energize the body. 

The buttocks must be thrust out and the chin tucked in. The hands should be placed close to the body with the left hand resting on top of the right with palms open and up. The joint of the middle fingers are resting on top of the other with the thumbs slightly touching. 

Your eyes should be half closed and your head should be positioned to a 45 degree angle towards the body. Given that it is not easy to keep the eyes like this the whole time, you can try closing them first and then opening them later on. Should you get sleepy, just open them wide. 

The challenging part is staying in a stationary position for 15 to 20 minutes. After you have developed a breathing pattern, you slowly relax the muscles from your face all the way down to your feet. As it slows down and oxygen enters, you should focus on positive thoughts and exhale those that are negative. 

By concentrating, you are able to unite the body, mind and soul so that your mind is aware of only the present and no longer the past or the unforeseeable future. 

Aside from the right posture, you should always wear loose clothing. It is not wise to practice this after a heavy meal because a full stomach usually creates discomfort which in itself is a distraction. 

If you would like to learn Zen Meditation, you can read about it or better yet join a group. Once you get the hang of things, you can even buy a few accessories to make the experience a fruitful one like incense sticks, a bell or even a ringing bowl to mark the start and end of a session. 

Short incense sticks burn for about 45 minutes while the longer ones are double the time. You can even use the kitchen timer since no one will be there to ring the bell to say time is up. 

Zen meditation experts recommend that beginners should try for 10 minutes first until you get used to it before you decide to extend this for 20 or 30 minutes. Should your mind wander off, concentrate a little harder to focus once again on your breathing so your thoughts will settle down naturally.