O Mantra AUM/OM*
25 Thursday Feb 2016
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in25 Thursday Feb 2016
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in24 Wednesday Feb 2016
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in[When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world.]_ BKS Iyengar*
Inhale*Exhale* Letting go* Opening the Heart* (Paryankasana)
23 Tuesday Feb 2016
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in“For a yogi, the body is his laboratory for perpetual experimentation and experience.”_ B.K.S. Iyengar
22 Monday Feb 2016
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inToday, we live in a world where modern machines do much of our work for us, which greatly eliminates the need for manual labor. Not to mention, over 34 million Americans have office or sales jobs, forcing them to remain sedentary for eight or more hours a day.
According to a report published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the average person spends more than half of his or her waking hours in an inactive state (sitting at a computer, watching TV, commuting to and from work, etc).
While technology brings with it obvious benefits, such as getting more done in less time, consolidating our efforts, and connecting us to others at lightning speeds, it has many drawbacks, as well.
Sitting down for prolonged periods of time can cause problems such as chronic back pain, poor posture, and even potentially deadly diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
If you spend a lot of time sitting down for your job, take a look at the specifics of how this can negatively impact your health, according to four experts in the industry:
Moving our bodies means more blood and oxygen flowing throughout the brain, which helps us maintain clarity and keeps our minds sharp. However, by sitting for long periods of time, this slows the flow of oxygen and blood to our brains, inhibiting our ability to think clearly.
Also, slumping forward at work to stare at a computer screen puts tremendous strain on the neck, particularly the cervical vertebrae, which connects the spine to your head. Poor posture also damages the back and shoulder muscles, as they become overextended due to leaning over a keyboard for long periods of time.
One of the most apparent problems occurs for most people in their backs, as bad posture contributes greatly to back pain, inflexible spines, and disk damage. Moving around causes soft disks between vertebrae in the spine to expand and contract, allowing blood and nutrients in. By sitting too long, the disks become uneven and compact, even causing collagen to build up around tendons and ligaments.
Also, herniated lumbar disks occur more frequently in people who spend prolonged periods of time in front of a computer.
Sitting doesn’t require the use of your ab muscles, and if they go unused for too long, this can actually cause you to develop what’s called swayback, or the unnatural overextension of the spine’s natural arch. Plus, sitting too long decreases overall flexibility, particularly in the hips and back. Flexible hips aid in balancing the body, but by sitting too long, the hip flexor muscles become short and tense.
The glute muscles also become soft after prolonged periods of disuse, and this hinders your ability to take long strides and keep the body stable.
Remaining seated for long periods of time can cause heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer. In short, these problems are caused by the overproduction of insulin due to inactivity, and sluggish blood flow to the organs. Regular movement helps kill cancer-causing cells, boosting antioxidants that eliminate these free radicals from taking over the body.
Overproduction of insulin also causes weight gain, which contributes to diabetes and obesity.
Obviously, sitting too long will hinder circulation in the legs. This causes blood to pool around the ankles, which then results in swollen ankles, varicose veins, and even harmful blood clots. Another more subtle issue caused by prolonged sitting is that bones become weaker and less dense. Regular activity, such as running or walking, helps keep bones strong and thick. This might explain why so many elderly people today have osteoporosis, as society becomes more and more sedentary.
According to the study, people who watched the most TV over the span of 8.5 years had a 61% greater risk of dying a premature death compared to those who watched less than one hour per day.
First of all, if you DO have to sit for long periods of time for work or other purposes, make sure yousit up straight and avoid slouching or leaning over your keyboard. If you have to, buy an exercise ball, which forces your ab muscles to work and will naturally keep your body straight. You can also use a backless stool if you want something a little more stable than an exercise ball.
Secondly, make sure to get up regularly to stretch. How often should you do this? At least once every thirty minutes, according to experts. Get up and walk around your office for a few minutes as well, which will keep the blood flowing and allow your brain and muscles to function optimally.
Thirdly, yoga can help immensely with keeping the muscles flexible and allowing the mind to relax and decompress from the work day. You can also buy a standing work desk, which will force you to do your work in an upright position. This helps blood and oxygen flow more freely through the body, reducing the risk of blood clots and other dangerous health problems.
Source: http://www.powerofpositivity.com/
22 Monday Feb 2016
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in“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”_ allan watts
17 Wednesday Feb 2016
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inB.K.S. Iyengar performing Utthita Trikonasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana, Virabhadrasana II, Virabhadrasana I
16 Tuesday Feb 2016
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in“Practice And All Is Coming”_ Pattabhi Jois
16 Tuesday Feb 2016
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inMeditation can carry us into the empty space, yet the empty space is also a place of creation. Imagine we are weaving a beautiful carpet of sounds and melodies and everyone can sit on this carpet and fly.
We create the empty space, by letting go of achieving.
The empty space is created by the emptiness of our minds and the openness of our hearts. Everything is possible and meant to happen the same time, within this space. The empty space is created by generating a sacred space, where everyone has the right to heal or transform or not. Within the empty space, the medicine is the emptiness. And if the emptiness is present, than we feel no separation, only complete unity.
When we play music, we can tune into that space, empty our minds and open our hearts. We can feel this when we play and sing. Most often the empty space appears after finishing a song, the silence which is filled with emptiness.
Sit quiet and focus on your nostrils, and how the air enters. If thoughts are coming up, just come back to the breath. Try to become really still. The breath is a great tool to focus on, but after awhile, let go of the breath as well, and just float within that silent mind space. Enjoy letting go of all you think you have to do today or tomorrow.
Then start to open your voice or start to play your instrument. If you open your voice, be very gentle and sensitive. Gain strength from the openness of your heart and the willingness to let go of your ego. Move beyond your ego. Observe what your mind does when you play or sing. Are you still trying to be perfect, or adjusting your tuning of voice? When you can just listen to what you are doing, rather than judging it, you are getting closer to the empty space.
This is a great tool to realize that life is a journey with many stories. If we feel like we would like to rest, reset or maybe delete some of the stories, the silent space is always available to support this process.
Font: Betina Maureenji Music (facebook page)
http://maureenji.bandcamp.com/track/universal-symphonies
16 Tuesday Feb 2016
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inFind your balance, and stand still..*
05 Friday Feb 2016
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inIt is usual that the invocation is chanted at the beginning of classes at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Institute, Pune. Sage Patanjali has penned the ancient Indian heritage of Yoga through his treatise the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which is an encompassing study of the subject which consists of just 196 sutras (aphorisms).
yogena cittasya padena vacam (yo-gay-nuh chih-tah-syuh pah-day-nuh vah-chahm)
malam sarirasya ca vaidyakena (mah-lahm shah-ree-rah-syuh chuh vy-dyuh-kay-nuh)
yopakarottam pravaram muninam (yo-pah kar-oh-tahm prah-vah-rahm moo-nee-nahm)
patanjalim pranjaliranato’smi (pah-than-jah-lim prahn-jah-leer ah-nah-to-smee)
abahu purusakaram (ah-bah-hoo-poo-roo-shah-kar-ahm)
sankha cakrasi dharinam (shahn-kah chah-krah-see dar-ee-nahm)
sahasra sirasam svetam (sah-hah-srah sheer-ah-sahm shvay-tahm)
pranamami patanjalim (prah-nuh-mah-mee pah-tahn-jah-lim)
Let us bow before the noblest of sages Patanjali,
Who gave Yoga for serenity and sanctity of mind,
Grammar for clarity and purity of speech, and
Medicine for perfection of health.
Let us prostrate before Patanjali,
An incarnation of Adisesa,
Whose upper body has a human form
Whose arms hold a conch and disc, and
Who is crowned by a thousand headed cobra.