Discover Your True Self

Yoga is a Union of Body & Mind

According to Patanjali's ancient Indian writings called Sutras there are 5 activities of the mind.

1. Pramana or correct perception is seeing something correctly. It's either directly with our own eyes or through a credible source.
2. Viparyaya means misperception or incorrect understanding. It happens when we believe that something is true and act as if it is, when in fact it is not. Patanjali explains that the functions of the mind are neither positive nor negative. We can't say that correct perception is always good, while the misperception is always bad. It all depends on our personality and the situation we are in. How many times have you told youself  " I wish I didn't see this" or may be "Only if I knew this before...?" These are great examples of how our mis/perception works.
3. Vikalpa is our imagination. It is the idea we create in our mind. However, through positive visualizations the imagination can have one of the greatest values to us. I can think of so many great movies and books such as the " the Secret", "The Power of Now", "New Earth", "You Can Heal Your Life"...etc. that all talk about how through the power of positively thinking and visualizing you can achieve your dreams/goals.
4. Nidra is the deep sleep. It is considered as a nonactivity. While deep sleep makes us feel refreshed, a night of disturbed sleep can affect our mood or ability to concentrate the following day.
5. Smrti is our memory, or collection of all the past experiences that we have. Memories can bring us both pleasure or agitation. They can affect our current situation, more than we might actually realize.

Learning how the mind works is only the first step of seeing Your True Self separate from the workings of the mind. And eventually want to get to the point of acting from Your True Self rather than the mind.

Love and Light,                          

Use Yoga as a Stress Relief

During the intense midterm week full of studying, tests and projects, feelings of fear and anxiety rise within our bodies that bring stress along. My personal way to cope with the tension and stress is to attend a Yoga class.

It all starts when I enter the studio and a calm feeling rises within me. Then as I cocentrate on the breathing, I start to release all tension from the facial muscles down to the heels. Because of this the brain starts to relax as well, as it becomes still. I try to let all go and bring just peace in.

Then as I start feeling light, the postures become more challenging. And the teacher encouraging "push, push and push...I know it's hard, it has to be hard here so when you go to the world out there everything is going to look so easy..."
Ninety minutes go by so fast, everybody leaves with a smile on their calm face.

I highly recommend Yoga for those with busy lives.

Love and Light,

7 Chakras

Find the Balance & Open up your Chakras

According to the tradition of Buddhism there are Seven Chakras  located in the human body.

• Crown chakra
• Third eye chakra
• Throat chakra
• Heart chakra
• Navel chakra
• Pelvic chakra
• Root chakra

Chakras are energy centers where the body and mind meets to create energy that governs our behaviors, beliefs and health. When practicing Yoga the chakras open that lets the energy flows through the body. Through the spiritual language of Yoga we start paying close attention to the chakras and learn how to work on them  as we try to control the energy flow within the body. This allows us to reach our full potential and find the balance in life.

Love and Light,

Hot Yoga Benefits

To understand what the benefits are, first you  have to know what hot yoga is.

Hot yoga or also called Bikram Yoga started when a world champion weight lifter Bikram Choudhury injured his knee. He started practicing yoga in hot conditions for six months that brought him from the wheelchair back to walking. People were amaized of his achievement which made him start teaching through his experience. Nowadays, Bikram is known as a yoga branch that is practiced in 100 F, for 90 minutes consisting of 26 postures. Practicing yoga in hot conditions increases not only the flexibility you can reach  in every posture, but also the benefits you get from it. The heat protects your muscles, makes you burn between 1000-1500 calories, makes you sweat out the toxins and builds up your immune system.

Believe in yourself!!!

Yoga for Health

 

Inhale & Exhale Inhale & Exhale Inhale & Exhale

" Breath is the connection between the body and mind, making it a path to enlightement or union, the goal and the process of Yoga!"

When you start practicing Yoga the very first thing you need to learn is how to breathe. You learn how to concentrate and control your breath. Then an internal movement appears that massages the organs, keeps fluids circulating and balances the nerveous system.This is what makes your mind become alert and your body toned.

You might ask "Why is breathing so important?." The reason is that controlling the rhythm of the breath brings a lot of benefits such as:

• Improves heart function.
• Strenghtens muscles.
• Ventilates the lungs.
• Calms the nerves.
• Heats the body.
• Good for low blood pressure.
• Necessary for efficient gas exchange.

In my next post I will talk about the benefits of hot routine postures.

Love and Light,

Why Practice Yoga?

Assume you have never been to a Yoga class (or may be this is your case) and somebody comes to you and asks you "What is Yoga?" What would you reply? Well, lets face it- the majority of people would say that yoga is about stretching, meditating and breathing. However, the truth is if you have never tried it, you can't really say more than that. It is one of the things that you don't know what you are missing out until you start practicing. Then the real question becomes "Why Practice Yoga?". Here I will give you my personal reasons why I do Yoga.

1. It's healthy.
2. It's good for my body.
3. Improves my balance and flexibility.
4. I use it as a stress relief.
5. It's a great tool of self-improvement.
6. It brings happiness to my life.
7. Yoga is Fun!!!

These are also going to be some of the topics of my future posts. Next week I will introduce some of the health benefits of Yoga. So please follow me if you want to learn more.

Love and Light,