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Yoga Practice – When Is The Best Time?
February 16, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
First of all let me start by saying that that whenever you do yoga practice, anytime is better than not doing it all. There are though distinct differences in both the experience and result of doing yoga practice at different times of the day.
First thing in the morning for example, the body tends to be stiffer. On the other hand the mind tends to be clearer. A stiff body and a clear mind can work very well together for asana practice.
A clear and fresh mind and is a vital element in the practice of asana, and one that is not that often consider. The benefits it brings go to the heart of what yoga practice it is, the path to union. With a clear mind the potential for the necessary union of mind and body is highest. With a mind clear and rested from sleep a deep state of awareness is also more possible.
This heightened level of awareness and mental clarity lowers the potential risk through injury. Even though the body is stiffer we are less likely to overdo extend ourselves. When awareness is present in and can penetrate into the asana, we are more likely to use the practice for opening rather than stretching. It can also make our practice more meditative in nature and therefore increasing the benefit.
The other advantage of morning practice is that the benefits of raised metabolism, body mind integration, and energetic stimulation, are carried with us into the day. As a result we start our day energized, grounded and feeling good.
In the evening our bodies are looser, but our mind can be tired and scattered or overstimulated. The benefit then is that the mind can through the practice become calm and focused. On the other hand the combination of the body being looser in the mind being tired can lead to over extending and increase the potential for injury.
To get the best out of the advantages of practicing at any time of day is to bare all of the above in mind and adjust our practice accordingly. For example, in the morning and Ashtanga or vinyasa practice is a good fit. And in the evening more year in tight practice that is slower, relaxing and calming, while allowing deeper opening in the poses is more appropriate.
So no matter what we do yoga practice remembered to be intelligent in what you practice and why, but the bottom line is always some practice is better that non, even if it’s just 15 minutes before bed to ease out the days stress.
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreThe End Game
February 14, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
~
This is the end game
the final play
we have journeyed
from every corner of creation
passing lives without end
through every shadow of the heart
every radiance of the light
to be here in this time
to become this moment
the changing of an age
the changing of it all.
This is our time
and we have come
in the light of love
thy will be done
heaven will be born on earth.
This is the end game
the final play
it is our time
and we have come.
~
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out more
Spiritual Unity – Where Is It?
February 13, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Spiritual unity and oneness may be things we believe in and aspire to, but how manifest are they in how we think, feel, behave and live? Do these ideals of spirituality effect the way we view our moment to moment lives or are they abstract ideals that we share in like minded company? When things don’t go our way, or when we see suffering and destruction in the world, how do we reconcile them with spiritual unity and oneness?
Here is a classic example of the paradox of absolute truths and relative reality. Our relative experience is of separation consciousness, the absolute truth is unity, oneness. The egoic mind is a fractured consciousness and as such experiences itself as separate from all else. It is fractured by pains and fears that remain unhealed, incomplete or unresolved. The pure awareness of unity and oneness is filtered through
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreSpiritual Awakening – Eckhart Tolle
February 12, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Spiritual awakening is really the discovery and remembrance of the deepest truth of human existence, our spiritual nature. Here then is the wonderful Eckhart Tolle speaking on his understanding and experience of the essential nature of humanity as inseparable from the Divine.
I personally enjoy both Tolle’s quirky personality and the depth of his wisdom and understanding of the human condition and our true spiritual nature. To help inspire your own spiritual awakening you can find more Eckhart Tolle DVD’s here
Yoga Poses – Cobra – Bhujangasana
February 11, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
Do this in easy stages. Lie down on your mat, legs tightly together and stretched back, heels of the feet together, forehead on the floor. Put your hands, palm down, fingers together, thumbs open, just under your shoulders.
Imagine a cord at the top of your head extending outwards like an energetic extension of your spine. Inhale slowly and raise your head imagining your head being drawn upwards by this cord, feel your neck extending by the vertebra lengthening as they are drawn upward by the cord.
Next use your arms to push your upper body up continuing the extension from the top of your head into the vertebra of the back. Contract the anus and muscles of the buttocks. Maintain the sense of the cord lengthening the spine. Make sure you are not compressing the place where the skull sits on top of the neck by overextending at that point. If there is any pressure in the back of your neck, your probably are overextending.
Lift upwards, lengthening through the spine, through the neck up through the cord at the top of your head, until you are bending in a beautiful arc from your lower spine to the back of your neck. You need go no further than this. You should feel no strain in the lower back, and remember to keep the heels of the feet together. My own advice is to not extend beyond 70% of your capacity, remember yoga isn’t stretching!
If you are supple enough, you can now straighten your arms further. Make sure that you are not lifting the shoulders toward your ears, keep the shoulders down and the front of the shoulders open, with a feeling of lifting and opening from the sternum in the center of your chest.
Bend the legs at the knees and drop your head back towards your feet following the extension of the cord. Even if your head goes nowhere near your feet, imagine the cord touching the middle of your feet while maintaining the lengthening of the vertebra and hold the posture with deep breathing.
Consciously relax the diaphragm as you breathe and look to find exactly where the energy is needed to maintain the posture. See if you can relax around these areas that are actually necessary to maintain the pose so that you are not exerting more energy than you need to. Keep breathing as deep into your body as you can without tension or strain for five breath cycles.
Come out of the posture very slowly, returning to the face prone posture. Relax fully and consciously with your head to one side. Repeat.
Yoga Pose Cobra – Bhujangasana is beneficial for opening the chest and shoulders, activates the kidneys and is helpful for stress, diabetes, heart disease and IBS.
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out more
Yoga For Athletes
February 10, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 6 Comments
Golf. Running. Swimming. Basketball. Football. Cycling. It’s hard to find a sport for which yoga hasn’t been suggested as a performance or injury-prevention aid. While there’s not yet a whole lot of scientific research to quantify or qualify the benefits of yoga for athletes, it’s easy to find sport-specific yoga DVDs, books, and testimonials from star athletes like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Sasha Cohen. (More common is research examining how yoga can help the elderly or people with diseases or disabilities.) So absent a pile of studies to thumb through, I thought it might be instructive to talk to a handful of experts about how yoga might spill over into the rest of your workout life. They said yoga:
1. Will most likely make you more flexible. That’s probably a good thing; there’s debate on whether and how competitive athletes should stretch, but most agree that if you don’t push it, the stretching in yoga isn’t likely to harmthe average exerciser. “In my heart, I believe in stretching,” says Nicholas DiNubile, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the author of FrameWork: Your 7-Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones and Joints.
That’s especially true for people who perform repetitive motions, whether hunched over a computer or on the pitching mound. “We get into these habitual patterns of doing the same things with our bodies every day,” says Lillie Rosenthal, a New York-based osteopath who is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Runners may have tight muscles in the back of their body, like their hamstrings. Tennis players and pitchers have overdeveloped dominant arms and shoulders. The stretching and strengthening in yoga may help manage those imbalances, as well as improve general flexibility, doctors say.
2. Improves your balance and body awareness. Many yoga poses can improve your stability and agility and your awareness of where your body is in space, says Sage Rountree, a Chapel Hill, N.C.-based yoga teacher and cycling/triathlon coach and author of The Athlete ‘ s Guide to Yoga . Those skills are enormously helpful in sports—just think of a golfer, whose swing depends on being able to sense where various body parts are and how they move in relation to one another.
3. Can strengthen your core. “Core strength” is a buzz-phrase in pretty much every sport; the idea is that strengthening the muscles in your back, midsection, and butt will give you the stability to improve the power of your movements and reduce injuries. Yoga can do that, says Brian Halpern, a nonsurgical sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. (Core strength is part of a program designed to reduce injuries in female soccer players.)
Read the complete article here
Here are more articles on yoga for sports and athletes
Fitting yoga into your fitness routine | College Jolt – Whether you’re a varsity athlete, elliptical junkie, or couch potato improve your physical fitness or sports performance by enhancing strength and flexibility with yoga.
Can Yoga Heal Sports Injuries? | Fitness Guidelines – Can Yoga Heal Sports Injuries? February 17, 2009 by FitnessGuru. Filed under Fitness. For an athlete, a sports injury is entirely devastating. Most sports injuries prevent athletes from participating in the sport that they love. …
Yoga Can Improve Your Game – Whatever It May Be | Fitness Guidelines – Filed under Fitness. Do you consider yourself an athlete? Are you passionate about one particular sport or game? Do you want to push yourself to that next level? Believe it or not, yoga can help to improve your game…no matter what …
Athletes Embracing Yoga – Fitness – Families.com – You don’t have to be a Hollywood actress, a college-coed or flexible fitness fanatic to excel at yoga, just ask the dozens of athletes (professional and amateur) who have discovered the benefits of this ancient exercise option. NFL football players, pro golfers and stars of the NBA are … According to the pros, yoga is one of the best ways to cross-train for a variety of sports, including running, surfing, swimming and skiing, where the body has to react quickly. …
Yoga for Grappling – For the grappler, the increased awareness and efficiency of breathing is one of the most unexpected benefits of a yoga program. Many martial athletes use only a fraction of their lung capacity when breathing. … After a good yoga session I often feel like I have received a whole-body sports massage, which promotes faster healing from workouts. Finding Instruction. In conclusion I would encourage you to take the time required to find the right yoga school or instructor …
Yoga stretches athletes’ potential – Pavano and title among little are among a growing number of athletes who have turned to the ancient India meditative technique’s twists, stretches and poses. Yoga it self shuns competitiveness, but athletes say the activity improves …
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreCan Yoga Alleviate Postpartum Depression?
February 10, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 1 Comment
(NaturalNews) Recently a study (conducted at the University of California, Irvine) suggesting that postpartum depression is the result of hormonal imbalances has made news. Postpartum depression is a common condition affecting women in the days after childbirth. It has also been suggested that Yoga potentially holds the key to alleviating this condition. Here is why.
Stress induced hormone release is considered normal when the brain discharges minute amounts of Corticotropin-releasing hormone, or CRH, to help the body cope with the stress. During pregnancy, however, the brain could potentially release copious quantities of CRH to help the mother during labor and thereafter drastically reduce the production of this hormone by contrast. This sudden rise and fall of hormonal levels can cause the endocrine system to behave abnormally and create havoc for the mother, during the postnatal phase.
It is also a fact that the levels of this hormone can be detected at around 25 weeks of pregnancy, exposing the mother’s propensity towards postpartum depression. Naturally, therefore, if levels are high it can be concluded that the risk of postpartum depression is also proportionately high.
CRH is known to trigger a surge of activity in the pituitary and adrenal glands, resulting in an unusually high output of the stress hormone, cortisol. Abnormal levels of stress hormones produced by an endocrine system out of balance can lead to conditions such as depression. According to studies, the brains of suicide victims, upon examination, revealed elevated levels of stress hormones.
The rate of postpartum depression can be as high as 1 in every 5 women within four to 6 weeks after childbirth and 7 percent of new mothers as well suffer severe depression.
Scientists say that women who are prone to depression have had previous bouts of depression, or those with a poor self-image, weak social and emotional ties, combined with a stressful pregnancy are the ones most likely to go through postpartum depression.
Read the complete article here
You can also beat depression through correct nutrition
More great articles on health benefits of yoga from around the web
Divine Magic: Gentle Yoga – This includes the digestion system, glands, muscles and cardiovascular health. Asana promotes mental health as well, cultivating a quiet and peaceful mind while increasing alertness and concentration. … The breathing exercises help clear your body of toxins, while relieving stress, depression, and other mental or physical problems. A regular 30-minute practice session of gentle yoga each day will benefit your body, mind and spirit in many ways. …
Yoga And Weight Loss | Wish Everyone Good Health. – >Elevates mood and reduces depression. >Helps maintain healthy bones, muscles, joints, and nervous system. >Delays affects of ageing, making seniors more mobile and self sufficient and less likely to fall prey to injury or illness. … With more progress in your yoga practice, you will begin to experience new feelings of health, strength, and well-being. These feelings will in turn motivate you to take even more control of your life so that you can continue your progress …
Yoga Shows Promising Benefits For Breast Cancer Patients « Moments … – Doctors have found that yoga brings emotional benefits to women with breast cancer. Those in a recent study had a 50% reduction in depression and a 12% increase in feelings of peace after taking a RY yoga course. …
US veterans prescribed ‘laughing yoga’ – MashGet – Dr Andy Weil has told a Senate committee hearing he believes his version of the therapy could effectively tackle depression and stop returning soldiers becoming another grim statistic. … http://www.laughteryoga.org This is a short piece by Dr Sanjay Gupta of CNN Health about Laughter Yoga and Dr Madan Kataria. Laughter Yoga in Cape Town. http://www.laughteryoga.org 10 minute feature for Free Spirit shows laughter yoga and laughter meditation with voice over of interview …
Yoga in Practice: Ten Solutions for Depressed Yoga Students, Part … – 2009 Wish Everyone Good Health., WordPress Themes by DBT. Special thank to Free Live Video Chat · London Escorts. Yoga teachers often struggle with methods for helping their students deal with a variety of ailments. Depression is …
That’s How It Really Works !!: 10 Hand Mudras for Better Health … – Regular practice ensures the cure of psychological disorders such as hysteria, anger, depression and other mental problems. Hand mudra positions yoga Indian medicine health fitness wellbeing strength weakness strong body pranayama …
Compassion: The Missing Link – Wellness, Disease Prevention, And … – It seems like this self-absorption is lending itself to a more narcissistic culture and this breeds disconnection which is not good for our mental health. When we give a donation, are we giving it so we feel good about ourselves or are we giving it to truly … Check out Dr. Goldstein’s acclaimed CD’s on stress prevention, depression, and addiction – "They are so relevant, I have marked them as one of my favorites on a handout I give to all new clients" ~ Psychiatrist …
The Health Benefits of Yoga – MeDiCaLGeeK – Nearly every yoga student will tell you they feel happier and more contented after class. Recently, researchers have begun exploring the effects of yoga on depression, a benefit that may result from yoga’s boosting oxygen levels to the …
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreYoga Beyond Religion
February 9, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
I follow all the Islamic tenets in the right interpretation and spirit and so, I can say that there is no such thing as yoga being haram (disallowed) in Islam. Rather, I have found that Islamic yoga is a reality. It is possible to employ the skills of yoga to worship Allah better and to be a better Muslim.
Issuing fatwa declaring yoga anti-Islamic by some Malaysian and Indonesian ulema is nothing but misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the fact that yoga and namaz are almost identical. Having practiced yoga during my school days, I found that it can easily be integrated with the Islamic life; in fact the two assist one another. Not only is there no conflict, but Islam and yoga together make a mutually beneficial holistic synergy.
Both are agreed that, while the body is important as a vehicle on the way to spiritual realization and salvation, the human being’s primary identity is not with the body but with the eternal spirit. Maintaining a healthy and fit body is a requirement in Islam, which teaches a Muslim that his or her body is a gift from Allah.Yoga happens to be one of the most potential common grounds between Hindus and Muslims.
The purposes of yoga and Tariqat-e-Naqshbandi (Sufi lifestyle) are apparently similar since both aim at achieving mystical union with the ultimate reality namely Brahma or Allah. Islamic mysticism is undoubtedly impacted by the uncanny Vedic and Buddhist influences desiring to achieve mystical union with the Supreme Being or as one may also call nirvana or fana (a term used by the Sufis).
The Indian Muslims’ love affair with yoga is a complex thing, born of many factors. There’s the general disenchantment with strict, orthodox Islam of the myopic clerics and the accompanying pull to alternative forms of spirituality.
Yoga, according to Ashraf F Nizami’s book Namaz, the Yoga of Islam (published by D B Taraporevala, Mumbai 1977) is not a religion. Rather, it is a set of techniques and skills that enhance the practice of any religion. Nizami writes that in namaz , various constituents like sijdah is like half shirshasana while qayam is vajrasana in the same way as ruku is paschimothanasana.
Even Father M Dechanel wrote a book on Christian yoga recording that practicing yoga is encouraged because it is a way towards the realization of Christian teachings. According to Badrul Islam, a yoga instructor at a government academy in Dehradun, one of the most obvious correspondences between Islam and yoga is the resemblance of salat (five-time prayer a day) to the physical exercises of yoga asanas . The root meaning of the word salat is ‘to bend the lower back’, as in yoga; the Persians translated this concept with the word nama z, from a verbal root meaning ‘to bow’, etymologically related to the Sanskrit word namaste.
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out more
Is Letting Go The Means Of Liberation?
February 8, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · 1 Comment
If Liberation is a process, how does it work and what do fear, anger and pain have to do with it?
What do we do when we are experiencing fear, anger or pain? The first thing is to actually notice and acknowledge what we are feeling. Next look where in our bodies it is vibrating. If we can do this we have immediately stopped being the emotion and it is now something happening, in a particular place, that we can be present to.
Where we find the emotion vibrating in the body we will find tension. This tension is the physicalizing of resistance we have to the feelings. The feelings are ‘past’ held by resistance in unconsciousness. Our resistance and denial then are directly reflected in the tension and holding in our bodies. By choosing to stop holding and allowing the body to open, we begin both the release of our resistance, and
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out moreAmma – Gods Love In A Human Form
February 6, 2009 by Ray Baskerville · Leave a Comment
I consider myself deeply privileged to have spent so much time withAmma. It would take an entire book to describe the experience of being with her and I suspect even that would offer an inadequate description. There are many gurus and teachers in the world today, some wonderful, many dubious. Amma is quite literally beyond. Beyond the capacity to describe, to know or understand, beyond any normal human parameters. Amma doesn’t do miracles, she is a miracle. A regular, or even spiritually advanced person could not do for one month what she has been doing now for decades.
I have lived and traveled with her in India, seen her give darshan (embracing) to tens of thousands of people, not just once, but day after day after day. At the end she stands up her eyes shining, bright and radiant. She travels almost continuously and yet has initiated more humanitarian acts and charitable works that probably any other other person on earth.
These outward manifestations of her life and actions are on such a huge scale that it is easy to focus on them. What happens internally to those who come to her is equally if not more profound. It is naturally more difficult to quantify and will be described differently by different people.
I have never been a guru chaser, my own profound spiritual experiences early in adulthood left me certain that the truth was within. I saw bowing to a guru as disempowering and sycophantic. I still believe it can be. I also know that when the guru is a Sat Guru (established in truth) or in Amma’s case something beyond even that,whatever that is, it can be the most profound, mysterious and powerful relationship we can ever have.
Even from the more rare instances when the autobiographies or biographies those who have awaken actually describe the blood and guts details of the process, it is hard to appreciate just how courageous one must be. More than this is the potential of reaching some degree of awakening and believing it is complete when it is not. When we see the continuous catalog of revelations and scandals about spiritual teachers and gurus, we are seeing the consequences of this.
I am entirely confident, from many direct experiences with Amma, that she can, and is guiding – usually invisibly – towards liberation, and wants nothing else for us. I had the good sense to recognize that she could and was helping me and that there are parts of the process that it is a really good idea to have help with. To have help with the whole process, well, I know of no greater blessings. Maybe in the future I will recount some of these experiences her on lifedivine.
Here then a short excerpt from the film ‘Darshan the Embrace’ hope these words and images inspire you to make the effort to see Amma somewhere in her world travels.
“Living Liberation - Meditation Training, and so much more" "It changed my life"Find out more
