Standing Chakrasana - The Wheel Pose

A great work-out for the spine, arms & love-handles. It can be done with utmost ease. One of the simpler Yogasanas to begin with, it does not put too much of a physical strain on your body & hence when done correctly, leads to benefits with comfort. In this video, Indian Actress Shilpa Shetty beautifully demonstratesStanding Chakrasana. Watch, learn & follow!

Namaste!

Naukasana - The Boat Pose (Shilpa Shetty demonstrates)

Naukasana is aptly called the boat pose. 'Nauka' in India's Hindi language means a boat. Beautiful Indian Actress Shilpa Shetty is demonstrating Naukasana in this 1 minute video. This Asana would definitely take time to master. Focus, balance & strength development are the core aspects here.

Have a healthy day!

Meditation - Benefits & Techniques

Benefits of Meditation
Meditation is widely recommended as a healthy way to manage stress, and for good reason. It provides many health-enhancing benefits, like reducing symptoms of stress and anxiety, relieving physical complaints like headaches, and even enhancing immunity to illness. (Read this article for more information on the health benefits of meditation.)

Basics of Meditation:
Meditation can be practiced in many different ways. While there are numerous different meditation techniques, a common thread runs through virtually all meditative techniques:

• Quiet Mind: With meditation, your thinking mind becomes quiet. You stop focusing on the stressors of your day or your life’s problems, as well as solving these problems. You just let that voice in your head be quiet, which is easier said than done. For example, start thinking about nothing now. (It’s OK; I’ll wait.) If you’re not practiced at quieting your mind, it probably didn’t take long before thoughts crept in.
• Being In The Now: Rather than focusing on the past or the future, virtually all meditative practices involve focusing on right now. This involves experiencing each moment and letting it go, experiencing the next. This, too, takes practice, as many of us live most of our lives thinking toward the future or relishing and rehashing the past.
• Altered State of Consciousness: With time, maintaining a quiet mind and focus on the present can lead to an altered level of consciousness that isn’t a sleeping state but isn’t quite your average wakeful state, either. Meditation increases brain activity in an area of the brain associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions, and some evidence shows that regular practice brings prolonged positive changes in these areas.

Types of Meditation Techniques:
Researchers generally classify meditation techniques into two different categories: concentrative, and non-concentrative. Concentrative techniques involve focusing on a particular object that's generally outside of oneself: a candle's flame, the sound of an instrument, or a particular mantra. Non-concentrative meditation, on the other hand, can include a broader focus: the sounds in one's environment as well as internal body states and one's own breathing. There can be overlap with these techniques, however; one meditation technique can be both concentrative and non-concentrative.

There are many, many different ways to meditate. Here I’ll mention some basic categories of meditation techniques so you can understand some of the main options and how they differ from one another. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it can give you some ideas.

• Basic Meditation Techniques: This involves sitting in a comfortable position and just trying to quiet your mind by thinking of nothing. It’s not always easy to do this if you don’t have practice with it. But a good way to begin is to think of yourself as an ‘observer of your thoughts,’ just noticing what the narrative voice in your head says, but not engaging it. As thoughts materialize in your mind, just let them go. That’s the basic idea. (Here's more on basic meditation.)
• Focused Meditation Techniques: With this technique, you focus on something intently, but don’t engage your thoughts about it. You can focus on something visual, like a statue; something auditory, like a metronome or tape of ocean waves; something constant, like your own breathing; or a simple concept, like ‘unconditional compassion’. Some people find it easier to do this than to focus on nothing, but the idea is the same -- staying in the present moment and circumventing the constant stream of commentary from your conscious mind, and allowing yourself to slip into an altered state of consciousness.
• Activity-Oriented Meditation Techniques: With this type of meditation, you engage in a repetitive activity, or one where you can get ‘in the zone’ and experience ‘flow.’ Again, this quiets the mind, and allows your brain to shift. Activities like gardening, creating artwork, or practicing yoga can all be effective forms of meditation. (See this article on walking meditation for specific instructions.)
• Mindfulness Techniques: Mindfulness can be a form of meditation that, like activity-oriented meditation, doesn’t really look like meditation. It simply involved staying in the present moment rather than thinking about the future or the past. (Again, this is more difficult than it seems!) Focusing on sensations you feel in your body is one way to stay ‘in the now;’ focusing on emotions and where you feel them in your body (not examining why you feel them, but just experiencing them as sensations) is another. (Read this article for more on mindfulness.)
• Spiritual Meditating: Meditation can also be a spiritual practice. (It does not have to be, and certainly isn't specific to any one religion, but can be used as a spiritual experience.) Many people experience meditation as a form of prayer -- the form where God 'speaks,' rather than just listening. That’s right, many people experience ‘guidance’ or inner wisdom once the mind is quiet, and meditate for this purpose. You can meditate on a singular question until an answer comes (though some would say this is engaging your thinking mind too much), or meditate to clear their mind and accept whatever comes that day.

Whichever meditative techniques you use, the potential benefits are clear and numerous, making it one of the more commonly recommended stress management practices.

Article courtesy: Elizabeth Scott (About.com)

Relaxation - Vairagya Bhav (let go)

When I was at The Yoga Institute in Mumbai-India, we had lectures from Hansaji. Her speech was always enlightening. Her soothing words always helped me to look at life with a different perspective. Read her article on 'Relaxation' through the link at the end of this article. She has beautifully described "Vairagya Bhav" which means 'let go'.

In this materialistic world, how many of us can let go of our desires, needs and wants? How many women can resist their temptation when they see a bag at COACH, FENDI, LOUIS VUITTON or whatever brand they love. Can you walk past MAC, LO'REAL, CLINIQUE without lusting after their new range of eyeliners, lip-gloss or eye-shadows?

Can you 'let go'?

If you are like me, then probably you would be really attached to people that you love. Over-attachment to people or things is sometimes the root cause of our stress. We must try to follow Vairagya Bhav to make life easier.

TIPS - IF YOU WANT TO FEEL LIGHTER, HAPPIER AND ORGANIZED, THEN:

1) Make space for your new clothes.Get rid of all clothes in your closet that you possess since many years and you won't ever wear them again. You just keep them thinking that someday you will and that day never comes more than once in 2 years. Give them away to the 'Homeless'. "LET GO".
2) Check your drawers. Throw unwanted papers, dried up pens, broken jewelry pieces, old magazines etc. "LET GO".
3) Have a look at your bathroom or dresser. There might be atleast 20 bottles of lotions, perfumes and oils. Start using the ones that have little quantity left and discard them. Make space, make your life easier. "LET GO".
4) Throw away medicines or food items that have passed their expiration date. Live healthy, live better. "LET GO".
5) Don't save your old slippers, shoes where the sole has given up. "LET GO".

DEAR READERS, TRY "VAIRAGYA BHAV". I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THE EFFECT IT HAD ON YOUR LIFE. Happy Reading!!!



http://www.theyogainstitute.org/relaxation_hansaji_jayadeva_yogendra.htm

Video on Introduction to Yoga - Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty is an Indian Actress with a fabulous body. I will post more videos where she is demonstrating the various Yogasanas and Pranayam Techniques.

Yoga -Meaning of Namaste, Om, Buddha and Meditation

Dear Readers,
I found this wonderful page describing 'OM', 'Buddha', 'Namaste' & 'Meditation'.
The words describing each term are beautifully framed and are explanatory. I am sure you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.
http://www.freespirit-yoga.ca/insights.html

Yoga- PREPAREDNESS

Yoga is union of mind, body and soul. Preparedness is an important virtue of Yoga.

All men make mistakes especially if they plunge into an activity without knowing who is right or what is right. We may enter a street fight and later regret it. Many a times, we regret an impulsive action or spoken words in a situation because we were not prepared.

If one gets conditioned to do a kind of work, one does it better. Sportsmen condition themselves by running, bending and stretching. Any kind of warm up exercise prepares us to do the activity better.

Yoga insists on preparation through meditative postures.

Yoga - Faith

Yoga teaches us about many virtues that we know exist, but never really give them much time or thought. They are an integral part of our life.

Faith is an important virtue in Yoga. A man rises as high as his faith.
We must have faith in ourself, others, God, surroundings in nature etc. A man who has poor faith is perpetually anxious, disintegrated and ineffective.

In Yoga, 'FAITH' is an UPAYA or technique. One has to build it up. Doing things and succeeding helps. Nothing succeeds like success.

" Faith is a living Daring Confidence in God's Grace, so sure that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times."

Why Yoga?

When I was under training to be a 'Certified Yoga Teacher' at The Yoga Institute, Mumbai, this is what I learnt.

Understanding the causes of stress and ailments:
It is observed in today's world that a major segment of society is unhappy, miserable, worried, full of stress and anxiety. It is also seen that there is no harmony between desires and resources, thus culminating into sorrow. This happens inspite of having all the prerequisites and when civilization is at its peak with the most refined technology available. The comforts that take man on a whirlwind tour become the cause for many psychosomatic diseases.

Modernization/Urbanization takes us away from nature and people from all walks of life suffer from diseases. The beginning is with slight aches, depression, high or low blood pressure, Cardiac arrests, Paralysis and diseases alike. Usually, a family life makes endless demands overwhelming us and all our efforts. The reaction of unforeseen complication in life, viz. delays, errors, misunderstanding, emotions, panic lead to Insomnia, nervousness, stomach upsets, chest pains etc.

How does Yoga help us?
Yoga is a Science, Philosophy, Technique in the form of mental and physical discipline that can be followed to avoid, prevent and restrict problems/diseases mentioned above.

Simple techniques like proper breathing, relaxation, stretching body parts result in removal of common ailments and help to manage the stress. Yoga is not only resistance to emotional storms but the best kind of health insurance starting a beneficial cycle with improved functioning of glands leading to better metabolism, vitality, vigor & a pleasant appearance. Yoga improves concentration, helps complete integration with self, control of thoughts and thus living a full healthy life.

Yoga should be imbibed by all.

Yoga - Definitions

Yoga is a way of life. Yoga has been defined in various forms.
1) J.Krishna Murthy - Awareness is Yoga.

2) Saint Arbindo - Overall development of personality by gaining knowledge of self, to develop oneself physically, mentally and spiritually.

3)Yog Vashishta- Yoga is to act without any tension or stress in mind.

4) Bhagwat Gita II-50 (Yogah Karmashu Kaushalam) - Do the work skillfully. Skill in work leads to perfection in work and perfection leads to excellence. Excellence in work in Yoga.

5) Patanjali Yoga sutra II-I (Yoga Schitta Vritti Nirodha) - To control the mental modifications of mind and its regulation is Yoga.

6) Bhagwat Gita II-48 (Samatvam Yoga Ucchate)- Evenness of mind. Balanced state of mind is necessary to look at any situation, may it be success or failure, to keep the mind steady in any situation. To remain in a balanced state of mind is Yoga.