Destressing Your Holidays and Life

If you are looking to find peace this holiday season, and any and every other time, the words of wisdom from the HeartMath Institute go a long way.

Here is a featured article by Doc Childre of HeartMath in Prevention with 5 simple yet powerful ways to transform your stress:


Here are some excerpts:

• Release Frustration, Impatience, Irritation and Anxiety: When you feel impatient, stop and still your body and mind; then imagine you are breathing in the attitude of patience. If you feel anxiety, breathe the feeling of calm and inner balance... This resets your emotional system and stops the stress response. 
• Say No to Drama: ...become conscious of when you are preoccupied with excessive worry and drama. Then, when you sense drama coming on, try to slow down and take pause (again, be still in your body and your mind, just for a moment).
• Reduce Self-Judgement: Practice releasing judgments of yourself. Be easy on yourself. Try to connect to your heart, release your feelings of self-doubt, and move on. Don’t wonder, “Did I do it right? Are my self-doubt feelings gone?” Just practice releasing and moving on. Be casual about it.  
• Reopen the Heart-Feeling: [Offer] kindness and compassionate support to others or volunteering to help others in need, though we are in need ourselves. Acts of care, kindness, gratitude, and compassion can make a big difference.  
• Watch and Read the News with Balance Emotion: It’s our responsibility to have compassion and concern for other people’s pain, but self-care is also an essential responsibility. There’s a difference between having compassion for a situation and emotionally obsessing over it until it becomes a personal stress deficit. 

 
For the full article, visiti: http://blogs.prevention.com/marias-farm-country-kitchen/2012/11/27/5-ways-to-transform-your-stress-response/

To learn more about Heart Math, visit www.heartmath.com
 

Reflexology Eases Cancer Symptoms

Foot massage. (Credit: © Vladimir Sazonov / Fotolia)

Just in from Science Daily:

Reflexology: Ancient Foot Massage Technique May Ease Cancer Symptoms

ScienceDaily (Nov. 13, 2012) — A study led by a Michigan State University researcher offers the strongest evidence yet that reflexology -- a type of specialized foot massage practiced since the age of pharaohs -- can help cancer patients manage their symptoms and perform daily tasks...

"It's always been assumed that it's a nice comfort measure, but to this point we really have not, in a rigorous way, documented the benefits," Wyatt said. "This is the first step toward moving a complementary therapy from fringe care to mainstream care." 

...They found that those in the reflexology group experienced significantly less shortness of breath, a common symptom in breast cancer patients. Perhaps as a result of their improved breathing, they also were better able to perform daily tasks such as climbing a flight of stairs, getting dressed or going grocery shopping.

Read more at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121113174928.htm

Mindful Breathing

Here is a great Pilates breathing exercise. Watch the video below to see how:

From Pilates: Breathing: http://www.videojug.com/film/exercises-to-improve-your-breathing

Learning how to breathe properly in Pilates is one of the keys to easier and more fluid exercise. It increases the flow of oxygen to the blood and also aids in focus and concentration.

Mindful Eating and Weight Loss

Here is a great excerpt from a thoughtful and brilliant article by Dr. Mark Hyman. 

.... The next time you eat, ask yourself if you are about to eat under stress.  Note how you feel by checking in with your breath- is it shallow or deep? Get in touch with your heart rate and see if you can find a way to use your breath to slow it down and relax your pulse.

Is your mind racing and do you have stressful thoughts running it?  Are you excited about your food or are you feeling guilty or concerned about what is in front of you? Do you feel calm or restless?

All of these questions are the beginning of embarking on an understanding of how you relate to food.  The funny thing is, how we each relate to food tells us a lot about how we approach life and what we want out of it.  The next time you catch yourself eating under stress, follow these guidelines:

1. Start each meal with 3 deep belly breaths.  For a thorough explanation on how to calm your mind and relax your body please check out my article on meditation.
2. Observe your thoughts about yourself and the food you are about to eat.  Remember, judging your food as good or bad essentially begs the idea that you too are either good or bad.  While a diet based on whole, fresh, real, organic, local and seasonal foods is best, there will be times when you will want a treat, a “recreational food” or you will be offered a food you may think of as “bad.”  Imagine the difference in digestion you would experience if the next time you ate your favorite foodor any food under a relaxed state where you savored each bite and didn’t have to rush through it out of guilt, worry, or self doubt about willpower! I’d rather see you eat all food under the optimal state of digestion and absorption so that you best metabolize and utilize your nutrients.
3. When you eat, do so with willing attention toward your food.  In fact, do as my friend Marc David suggests and eatsoulfully, not just mindfully. Marc runs the Institute for the Psychology of Eating.  Learn more about this unique style of nutrition. Soulful eating allows you a whole-body experience that celebrates your innate desire to seek pleasure from foodand not stop until you receive the right amount.  Mentally and soulfully reap nourishment from your food before, during and even after your meal by doing this:
   .  Savor the flavor: Notice the texture and aroma of each bite to get the most flavor. Is it sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy, sour, bitter, or smooth?
   .  Observe: Notice your body – is your belly gurgling with hunger?  Or are you completely
   stuffed?  Are you stressed or calm and what could you do in that moment to increase relaxation?
   .  Be Present: Sit down while you eat, turn off all media or keep it in another room and simply eat while you are eating-nothing else!
   .  Resist Judgment: Let go of the urge to engage in negative self-talk and eat with compassion, respect, and gratitude toward your body. Notice when “should” or rigid rules pop into your mind and be aware of any guilt that comes up for you around certain foods.  Now is not the time to criticize-now is the time to calm your mind, slow the chatter and be present in your body.
   .  Awareness: Notice the difference the next time you drift off during a meal.  Bring yourself back to the moment and tasteeach bite. Maximize your pleasure!

Read the entire article: http://drhyman.com/blog/2012/07/05/the-secret-ingredient-to-stubborn-weight-loss/#!prettyPhoto

Pyramid Power

Research on pyramids continues to fascinate me. It was first sparked by reading David Wilcock's Source Field Investigations, a book I highly recommend for anyone who is ready to explore the fascinating real world research, science, and data on the mystery and expression of  Spirit and the Higher Source of Being.

Below, check out the research on the Russian Pyramids below from GizaPyramid.com to see some of the incredible results:

SUMMARY OF  RESEARCH 

This research was carried out by the Russian National Academy of Sciences which includes:  the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences,  Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics,  Graphite Scientific Research Institute, and the Institute of Physics in Ukraine.

RESEARCH RESULTS

• Immune system of organisms increased upon exposure in the pyramid  
•  Agricultural seeds placed in the pyramid for 1-5 days showed a 30-100% increase in yield
•  Russian Military radar spotted an energy column rising several miles high in the sky above the pyramid
• Several months after this pyramid was built, the Ozone layer improved in the atmosphere in Russia
• Areas near the pyramids seem to have diminished seismic activity
•  Oil becomes lighter and yields great in areas near pyramids  
• Newborns were given solutions that had been placed in the pyramid and their health indexes increased greatly
• Experiments showed most crimes almost disappeared and behavior was much improved  
•  The potency of pharmaceuticals increased with decreasing side effects
•  There is an increase in survival of cellular tissue infected by viruses and bacteria
• The pyramids decrease the strength of various viruses and bacteria.
• Ordinary water does not freeze even at 40 degrees below zero and retains its properties for years.
• Synthesized diamonds turn out harder and purer.

 

For more information, also check out the Pyramid of Life website.

In my healing practice, I sometimes add the Pyramid Matrix that was created in one of the Russian Pyramids to the healing session.

May 2012 Dream/Visions of Changes

 In May, 2012, I began have been having several reoccurring themed "dreams" telling me a repeating message. The bullet points below are the key items in those dreams. As a note, all of my tidal wave dreams in the past have signified a big change, not necessarily a "flood", and in every tidal wave dream I've had in the past, I've never been engulfed... In these recent dreams, I've/We've been taken by or immersed by the water and ended up floating on top and despite the chaos all is well.


May 2012 - Dream/Visions of Change

• There is a great change coming. We will be flooded (most likely not literally) with a great paradigm/reality changing shift. 
• No matter how or where we think we can escape it, it will engulf/embrace us.
• The change will be an emotional one - with peace being one of the great outcomes.
• It will be massive, chaotic, and can be scary to anyone holding on to the old during the change.
• We continue to think we need to or can do something physical to prepare for this event, in almost a last minute scramble, but that doesn't matter at all - the change surpasses and is beyond our scope of what we could physically prepare for.
• Many people will remain, for as long as they can, oblivious to the changes unfolding.
• We are currently being preempted of these changes, that are currently already unfolding - mostly behind the veil of the reality we are living in, by subtle communication from positive "family-like" members.
• One recent dream also revealed that we were in the probable path of being "shocked" by this massive event, but a wise, higher being negated that reality of "shock".
• We will ascend from lower levels of being to higher ones.
• There is a sense of lightness within the change and thereafter -- in the many terms of lightness; lightness over darkness, lightness over heaviness, and lightness in a jovial sense of humor and non-seriousness.
• After the change we will gain clarity, perspective, and have a higher level of communication and interaction with living beings.
• In the hindsight perspective of the change, there was truly nothing to fear. All is well and in a beautiful, harmonious, peaceful, and loving way.

I find great comfort in knowing we enrolled to be here on this planet now, under taking such a monumentous and transitional journey. I think if our higher selves signed us up for this, we are more than prepared, ready and willing to ride this wave! ~ Laura

Ashtanga Yoga Postures – are they really yoga?

Ashtanga Yoga Postures – are they really yoga?
By: Yogacharya

I did a Google Search for “ashtanga yoga postures” today, just to see what will come up. All ten first-page results gave me exactly what I didn’t want … It gave me websites about the wrong ashtanga yoga.

There’s more than one Ashtanga yoga?

No, not really … but in recent times the word “ashtanga” has been attached to a dynamic system of yoga-based exercises … and it’s become so popular that it has literally taken over the word ashtanga yoga as its own, leaving many practitioners of the traditional system of ashtanga yoga baffled and dismayed.

To them, yoga is a sacred, disciplined, eight-limbed science for personal development and inner transformation … a system that includes much more than what is utilized in the newer, fitness centered pop-ashtanga version.


To learn more about the 8 parts of yoga, Click Here ...


How Strong Are Your 8 Limbs?

You may have heard about the first 2 limbs of yoga, the yamas and niyamas … those pesky morals and ethics that the yogis always seem to keep harping on. Really though, we all know how to be a good person, so what’s the big deal?

Unless you’re from Mars, then you know about the third limb … asana. That’s the cream of yoga for us body obsessed Westerners … and of course, who wouldn’t want to look as young as Madonna in their 50s?

The fourth limb you probably know too. It’s that monotonous breathing they call pranayama (like that exotic word is supposed to make it more interesting?). I already ready know how to breathe, don’t you?

But after that, things start to get vague for most of us.

Can you even name limbs five through eight? Don’t feel bad if you can’t, even most yoga teachers today don’t have much to say about them, let alone teach about them. Which is why modern yoga really is more like “yoga preschool” than “yoga college.”

It’s in the last four stages is where yoga really begins. That’s what all the classic literature on yoga says and any real Guru (not the kind with a fake beard and moustache) would agree.
What’s the point of the first four limbs then?

We all know the saying, “you need to crawl before you can walk.” The first four limbs are “yoga crawling” so to speak … preparation for the higher stages. But one of the biggest yoga delusions people have is thinking that, because they can contort their body into all sorts of extreme positions, they are “advanced” in yoga.

The ashtanga yoga postures are indeed great tools for improving and maintaining our physical health. They even help ground us a lot on the mental and emotional levels too. But transforming from someone who is deeply attached to their possessions, emotional dramas and relationships in this world, into someone who is able to detach from all these things and experience the real joy of being part of this miracle of life, requires a journey to the higher yoga mountain peak.

If we don’t want to go there, then perhaps our yoga teachers haven’t done a good enough job to inspire us … to let us know what we’re missing, and why we need to set our sites a little higher. If we don’t outgrow our attachment to the Ashtanga yoga poses, then we’ll be stuck in that land of preparation forever. The question is, what exactly are we preparing for?

For online lessons in Traditional Ashtanga Yoga, Click Here ...

-------------------------------
Yogacharya is the Director of International Yogalayam, Editor of The Yoga News, and creator of The Yoga Tutor, a step-by-step online yoga training website.

For your FREE TRIAL of The Yoga Tutor, visit www.theyogatutor.com

© Copyright – Yogacharya. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. You may freely republish this article, provided the text, author credit, the active links and this copyright notice remain intact.

----------------------------
TAGS: Ashtanga Yoga Postures, Astanga Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga Poses, 8 Limbs of Yoga