Driving as a spiritual exercise (1)

Good morning friends.  One of my favorite things to do is to drive.  I love to drive especially when it is a long drive.  I have read a an article that focused my mind as I love driving.  It’s a good one.  Those who love to drive, did you know that they consider driving as a spiritual exercise.  It’s nice to know about it.  Let me share this with you.

I am a driver with 35 years’ experience, who is yet unable to say: “I am perfect.”

Everyday I learn something new, or a memory prevents me from embarrassing myself. Preventing ego from disturbing my driving is a very beautiful spiritual exercise, because in Bangalore’s traffic, your patience is tested to the maximum.

Being in the right can still get you into an argument or a fight, and I can make things worse if I let my ego erupt, and even though I have helped other drivers to drive better, I still have to keep learning and smiling. I will quote something here: “Today you are disciples, tomorrow you will be teachers, to be good teachers you must remain good disciples.” So I continuously reassess myself by recollecting where I goofed up during the day.

Driving is also a form of meditation. My mind becomes a blank except for the information being relayed to it by my eyes, and which it instantly translates into action for my feet and hands to use. All done in nanoseconds. To enhance this meditation, I have to merge with the car and become one with it. I have this habit of becoming what I see. I become one with a kite soaring in the sky, to see the wonderful vista below through its eyes. It’s the same looking at a tree, unless I become the tree I will never be able to experience the insect life teeming under the bark or running along the branches. The lizard, the squirrel, or the bird relaxing under the shade of the leaves. This is equivalent to being one with the Universe, one energy. This is one of the highest forms of meditation.  – Stephen Isaac

Art of breathing, way of life (2)

In the hands of an experienced teacher, the risk of injury is minimal to none. “You don’t breathe through the nostrils. These are not shallow, gasping breaths. You breathe from deep within you. It is meditative; it quiets the mind.”

The core muscles are engaged as you move into and hold each pose; even the eyes have to be fixed at a distinct point as the pose is held. Muscles are lengthened and the joints are moved into full motion. As the poses progress into more movements, the breath must remain calm. Hold a pose a little longer to catch more air.

“Yoga has a balancing effect. You learn to be still and be more peaceful. Everyone, without exception, can learn how to be still.”

Mysore class

Mysore is similar to a freestyle dance. Each moving at his/her own pace so there’s no pressure to catch up with the person next to you. A teacher and an assistant help students execute the asanas properly if needed.

Everyone is doing the same thing but bringing in different experiences. Some  go further,  while others remain on their specific level. Everyone does different things but works together so best to achieve the  goal—to relax the mind and achieve peace.

“We call it self-practice. The benefit is being surrounded by all these energy. Being close to somebody who knows more rubs off on you. It’s a beautiful thing to be next to somebody who inspires.”

 “Yoga is a skill that you can bring wherever you are. Nobody can learn the eight limbs in his/her lifetime. You learn and practice it your entire life.”

Weird Energy Tricks That Work (2)

■  Trash it  Did you know that cleaning out your wallet or deleting old e-mails can get your pumped up?  When you clear out one small area, you let new energy flow in.  Whether it’s a pile of old ATM receipts or a drawerful of shirts you haven’t worn in three years, get rid of clutter today.  You’ll feel like a weight has been lifted—leaving  you with a bust of energy.

 

■  Listen to slow tunes…  followed by faster songs.  In one study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine an Physical Fitness, people who began their workouts listening to slow songs, then switched to songs with progressive faster rhythms, pushed themselves harder that those who listened to either all fast, all slow, or fast followed by slow songs.  Reap the benefits without stepping on the treadmill:  Make a CD of your top five favorite songs, starting with the slow stuff and ending with the upbeat ones.  Keep it in the car to combat afternoon carpool slump.

 

■  Pig out in the a.m.  Then have a regular lunch and mini dinner:  That’s the recipe for more energy.  They found that people who ate the majority of their calories earlier in the day had more energy than those who consumed them later.  Eating more early will kick your metabolism into high gear, giving your more pep.

 

■  Get grateful  Focusing on what you’re grateful for—from your amazing marriage to Desperate Housewives on Sunday night—can actually give you more energy.  In a University of California, Davis, study, subjects were divided into three groups and told to keep a list of things they were grateful group felt more energized (and optimistic) than those in the annoyed and indifferent groups.  Taking stock of the good stuff keeps your energy fixed on the positive, rather than getting sucked up by regrets and frustrations.  Take a break right now and jot down one thing you feel so lucky to have in your life—you’ll feel energized in no time.

 

reference: Nicole De Coursy

Power Yoga for Every Body – 2

This practice, however, is distinguished by its attention to detail and its “slow flow” method;  instead of rapidly moving from one pose to the next, slow flow, as it’s name suggests, progresses at a moderate pace, which allows more emphasis on alignment and self-awareness.

 

There is this DVD offers three levels of practice (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), each with eight sequences, for a grand total of 24.  It’s important to understand that there aren’t 24 completely different sequences; as on the five other DVDs in Body Wisdom Media’s Interactive Yoga series, the sequences here are assembled from a “stockpile” of much shorter asana series, so there are some similarities among them.  Each level has two morning sequences, an “invigorating” practice, strength, balance, and energy-balancing sessions; the full workout; and two concluding quieting series.

 

Benagh is one of the most intelligent and insightful teachers around.  This is the second DVD of hers.  Her work is consistently of the highest quality, in both its sequencing and its focus on physical detail and alignment.

Ref: yogajournal

Make Time to Meditate – 3

Where?  Chair, cushion, on the ground, in your car while waiting her your kid’s soccer practice to end—these are all ideal places.  Some – people prefer a special tranquil place in their homes, away from the daily hustle and bustle.  Others ae fine with shutting the office door and taking the phone off the hook.  The goal is to make yourself comfortable so you won’t be distracted, say Foust. (take a seat, sidebar).

 

Just as yoga is more powerful in a group setting, so is your meditation.  Seek out a meditation group, or ask your fellow yogis if they’d like to start one, says Foust.  A regular group offers structure to help stay motivated.  It’s like having a personal trainer.  If you have a set date, you’re more likely to show up.  Plus, you’re with people with similar aspirations.

 

When?  Anytime that’s good for you.  Some people enjoy the mornings, while others opt for the end of the day.  Foust’s suggestion.  Try mornings at first.  This is when your mind is most alert, he says.  Another ideal time is right after your yoga practice.  You are relaxed, your previously congested energy is released, your mind is calm and open and your body has already sensitized to the breath,  says Foust.  Don’t be in a rush to roll up your mat and find your shoes.  Take a few minutes to sit with your thought.

ref: fityoga

Vision Quest – 3

Direct Mail from the Universe

 

We’ve all been confronted with circumstances or events that seem almost choreographed.  Too often, say the experts, we dismiss these events as mere coincidence, instead of recognizing them as the universe’s way of asking us to pay attention.  Sometimes, the nudge is gentle; sometimes it’s much harsher, arriving in the form of illness that strikes us or someone close to us, stopping us in our tracks and forcing us to reassess our lives and goals.

 

“How do we cultivate this type of occurrence?  First,” “we have to put aside the conditioning of our schools, teachers and society that don’t allow for—or acknowledge—that these experiences happen.  If you begin by valuing these experiences, it will open you up to become even more aware of them as they occurs.”

 

Andrews also suggests it may be possible to accelerate the development of a deeper awareness by removing yourself from the familiar.  While the mountainside hut may call to our romantic selves, the journey may be as simple as a hike in a forest.  “In the natural world, there are a presence and a feeling of power and spirits,” he says.  “A change in surroundings helps us go away from our prior selves, and opens us to looking at the world in a new and fresh way.  If you can’t embark on a journey to another place, go out in nature somewhere.  The natural world has a powerful presence and energy.”

 

In some cases, a message may appear to be an auspicious event, an omen tailored to us and only us.  The concept of surrendering to such events, or viewing them as messages, may seem frightening, too far beyond the realm of the familiar.

 

To become more aware and accepting of the messages sent to us by the universe, say Michael C. Rann and Elizabeth Rann Arrott, authors of Shortcut to a Miracle:  How to Change your Consciousness and Transform Your  Life, we first need to accept that there is a higher wisdom that is communicating with us at all times.  It’s up to us to listen.  We need to expect that it will communicate with us.  We need to listen for it.  Its voice is usually soft and gentle, but the more we listen and the more we pay attention to it,   the more clearly, the more often, and more directly it communicates.  It’s important to give thanks when we receive a  communication, and [to] give thanks for every miracle we experience.

ref: fityoga