Practicing Hatha Yoga For a Personal Growth Path

In Yoga classes, we are taught about Santosha (contentment). Yet, how can we be content with our lives, when we are influenced by the past, and the society we live in? We have to accept the fact that we are products of our family, culture, and education. To accept oneself at "face value" and without judgment is the beginning of finding inner peace.

For each of us this is a starting point in the journey of Yoga practice, and the path of personal growth, which runs parallel to our Yogic studies. Sometimes the reality that we are in control of our destiny is hard to face. Some of us have been trained to believe we have limited or no control over our lives.

Many people would like to resign the responsibility of personal growth to a higher authority. In a military society, it is easier to forward decision making to the next highest rank. This is a necessary part of the military structure and "the chain of command." There are also very repressive forms of government, which take all decision making out of your hands.

Regardless of which society you live in, if you are able to access the Internet, you are free to absorb good and bad ideas at the same time. You have the freedom to determine which forms of information you will accept or deny. The Internet is an educational gift, or a tool of self-destruction, depending upon what we choose to do with it.

Here is just one example: You could spend time listening to financial networks and experts who preach gloom and doom. In fact, they shout over each other all day long. If all the shouting does not get your blood pressure to rise, you have truly developed a reasonable level of patience. About half of the information you hear will be reliable. The problem is deciding which half of the information to react to.

Some of these financial experts were trained on the floors of stock markets worldwide. Their shouting, rudeness, and "cutting each other off" is a part of the financial culture. Shouting and running around in a panic may seem like unreasonable behavior to the rest of humanity, but this is how the world's financial markets work.

So, what does this have to do with your paths of Yoga practice and personal growth? Take the time to look within yourself and do not judge yourself because of your social status, past mistakes, culture, or education. See your unlimited potential for what it is. Do not let someone else determine your true worth.

Do not allow yourself to fall under the spell of a cloud of doom. If you find yourself gazing at bad news on television, switch the channel to something positive and educational. We cannot afford to waste time, by listening to pessimism without direction or solutions.

© Copyright 2009 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. aurawellnesscenter.com aurawellnesscenter.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

How Much Exercise Does It Take to Lose Weight and Also Improve Your Health?

This is a question I get all the time and the good news is, you can get results with a lot less exercise than you might think.

With a properly designed resistance circuit training workout, you can actually lose weight, boost your metabolism, and improve your cardiovascular fitness while exercising as little as 30 minutes, 3 times per week. But the key to getting results with short workouts is to focus on quality over quantity.

When it comes to quality of exercise, you want your exercise to be intense enough to create the stress needed to break down muscle tissue but you don't want your workouts to be so intense that they leave you feeling drained, depleted and exhausted. If you exercise at the right intensity you will improve your body's tolerance to physical activity (which will actually decrease your day to day stress), you'll burn fat and improve your heart health. Exercising at the right intensity will also activate your body's natural healing and regeneration process. However, going for a stroll around your park or walking at a pace that you can comfortably talk at is not going to give you the results you want.

The best way to gauge your exercise intensity is to use a scale from 1-10. If you were to be at rest you'd be at a level 1 and if you were to be sprinting and running at full speed you would be exercising at a level 10; the ideal intensity for getting the best results for weight loss and general health is about a level 7 or so. You want to be slightly winded, but you don't want to be totally out of breath. Most important, when your workout is done you want to feel energized and refreshed. A telltale sign you are over-exerting yourself is if you feel exhausted and depleted after your workout. If you put too much physical strain on your body with exercise you'll do more harm than good; your body will also produce free radicals that accelerate the aging process.

If you want to get fitter and firmer faster and improve your health you really only need to exercise (at the right intensity!!) thirty minutes, three days a week. That of course is the absolute minimum, but it should be encouraging to know you can still get results exercising as little as 30-minutes, 3 days a week. However, if you are only going to workout 3 days a week you need to make sure you do the most time-efficient, effective workout program where you don't rest, where your heart rate is pumping and you are simultaneously training every single major muscle in your body.

The most time-efficient 30-minute workout program is a circuit training workout. You can do a wide variety of different exercises in a circuit format such as yoga circuit workouts, ballet inspired workouts, calisthenic style workouts, traditional weight training workouts, cardio circuit workouts, etc. For optimal results you should switch your workouts up as this creates "muscle confusion" and prevents you from reaching the dreaded plateau.

Keep in mind, when it comes to getting fit fast, it's about exercising smarter, not harder. And you can get results in 30 minutes, 3 times per week, so there's no excuse to say you don't have time for that!

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Inducing Sexy Lucid Dreams and Out of Body Experiences

The human mind is not completely understood. In fact, as far as we know, we have only chipped away at the surface of its power and complexity. We do know, from observation, that the mind has a massive breadth of 'being'.

Our mind can travel the road between pure joy and the depths of despair in a frighteningly short time. This journey can be triggered by physical trauma, major bodily change, worry and stress. The list goes on.

Happily most of us experience more happiness than despair, but we can all benefit by 'training' our minds towards positive thought as this helps avoid negativity.

We're all aware that our mind state can be altered by hypnosis. We also know that our mind visits an altered state when we sleep. It is here where we can truly make our minds a better place.

We all dream whilst asleep but most people, as they wake, have already forgotten where their mind went. At best they recall only fragments of their dreams. It is possible, without hypnosis, to train our minds not only to remember dreams but direct dreaming activity. This is known as lucid dreaming.

If you are having a lucid dream, your mind is more aware than in normal sleep. As you are aware, you can direct your dreams forward towards a positive happy place and wake feeling more positive and refreshed.

The technique to learn how to have lucid dreams regularly, involves no drugs at all, nor is it reliant on any external influence. It comes from within our own being and has been known about by countless previous generations. It is used in many different ways. A slightly different form of it is used in Yoga and certain religions use it too.

It is possible to take part of our conscious mind into our subconscious, where dreams occur. This is a state of non-physicality where everything remains clear. It is also the place where we can find 'out of body experiences' or OBE's, as they are known. In this place you can project your mind wherever you want it to go. It may sound odd when I say that we can use our dreams for entertainment, but it is quite true. As with the very best 'real world' entertainment we can come away from a lucid dream or OBE feeling happy and refreshed. Lucid dreaming gives us a safe happy place to go when we sleep, and you don't need a ticket to get in! It is an ability that is already within us. It just needs to be teased out.

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Become a Yoga Teacher - Finding Yourself

How do you define "finding yourself" and what does this phrase mean? Would becoming a Yoga instructor help one find himself or herself? There are many people, who struggle with their direction and purpose in life, but how can intensive Yoga training help?

When we say: "I need time to find myself," what are we really saying? We feel lost, our sense of direction is off, and we may wonder why we are here. During times like these, we are spiritually, emotionally, and mentally vulnerable to outside suggestions.

Our belief system can be fragile, or unstable, due to sudden circumstances of our childhood. To find our direction and purpose in life, we should be able to look within - but what if we find no answers? In such cases, further study from reliable outside sources is required.

The traditional answer to finding oneself might be military service, academic education, technical education, religious education, or finding yourself on the job. Yet, for some of us, finding oneself may be a life long journey. The problem being - there is no "one size fits all" solution to finding one's life purpose.

The traditional Yogic approach has been to become an under study to a Guru. If we have found a true Guru, we would hear the truth (sravana) from his or her teachings. However, faith in another human being may be limited. The typical Yoga teacher training may be more about exercise (asana) than finding oneself.

At the same time, online Yoga teacher course options have grown. An Internet- based Yoga certification course offers flexibility and little or no dogma. This allows a teacher or student the ability to find answers from a variety of sources.

This also reveals that there is often more than one possible answer to a question. Finding answers to the puzzles of life can be a challenge. Training the mind to seek rational solutions, ultimately, makes each of us a "finder" instead of a seeker.

To become a finder, one must open his or her perception (samjnana). There is no guarantee that any of us can find our life purpose, unless we begin to find the answers from within. True awareness (samvid) comes from within.

The best Yoga teacher in the world can only live so long, and carry us only so far. At some point in life, we must find answers and solutions on our own. This quality we know as "innovation" makes us teachers in our own right.

© Copyright 2009 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. aurawellnesscenter.com aurawellnesscenter.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

Just How Can Yoga Teacher Training Be Considered a Mystical Quest?

Yoga teacher training can certainly help rescue life by presenting the right way to live in good health. You no doubt know physical exercise is good for you. In an ideal world,, you are looking for ways to integrate physical exercise into your day-to-day schedule. In the event that your aerobic exercises aren't balanced with a good dosage of weight training, though, you are missing out on a fundamental component of complete health and fitness. So why become a yoga exercise professional?

In a reasonably competitive world, presently there are hundreds and at times 1000s of yoga instructors in every area. With so much competition, to be a prosperous yoga teacher you must have interest, knowledge, and a field of expertise. The brain and heart must be opened to be a component of the continual development of yoga. Yoga teacher training is based on connection, experience and knowledge, karna yoga which is the ability to engage wholeheartedly and with energy in the daily chores regardless of whether big or tiny, and self-knowledge. The yoga teacher training draws on a realistic look at daily life, in which it isn't feasible to concur the laws of the activity. In your everyday living, you must count on yourself, along with heart and mind. The teaching usually takes place when the student is being taught or when he or she is instructing but, on top of all throughout the work and communal life at any of the yoga schools. By making use of the yoga exercises and meditations you develop understanding of human body, mind and power. This particular experience is followed up with related topics in physiology, anatomy and medical analysis into yoga and meditation - the study of the initial yoga texts is a fundamental portion of the education.

Any person who's joined more than just a few yoga instructional classes recognizes that yoga is more than just physical exercise; it is a tool for witnessing and experiencing. Yoga is a physical as well as mental exercise that makes you recognize from within that you and the entire world are interconnected. We come to this planet through our loved ones. In fact, numerous training programs give attention to family and community. They believe that the peace and fulfillment of yoga could go through further into our world by sharing it with families. Training courses may certify you to teach Fertility Yoga, Women's Yoga (Women's cycles and hormonal changes), Prenatal Yoga, Postnatal Yoga, Baby Yoga, Yoga for kids, Yoga for Teens, Family Yoga, Partner Yoga, and Society Yoga. It is virtually all yoga. The thing is, there are two categories of yoga: Yoga Mat Yoga, which is your training in class, and Living Yoga, which is the attitude, peace of mind, the stability as well as the excitement about existence that remains with you.

A number of programs are exceedingly practical, they instruct individuals the way in which to TEACH yoga, not only the poses. Sometimes they also include cutting edge strategies such as anatomy study, cadaver labs, movie assessment, posture special courses, and much more for a comprehensive experience. These unique offering lets you take your exercise to a different level, offers a broad knowledge of asana mechanics, and explores the much deeper physical and mental part not necessarily included in personal classes. Training programs change people's lives - it's an emotional experience, dramatically strengthening, job enhancing and life changing. The training also describes ways to reinforce your system. By joining the program, you will then see how to teach a dynamic and successful yoga class; acquire simple teaching knowledge; build the self-confidence to teach a fundamental yoga exercise class; develop your recognized talents and evolution; and be given a certification of training completion form.

A yoga teacher training must prepare the yoga trainer to aid his/her students in their spiritual growth through the practice of asana, pranayama, relaxation, meditation and also probably through immediate instructions in yoga school of thought and yogic principles. A yoga teacher's training, because of its nature, allows a yoga teacher to develop good communication skills, self-discipline and compassion. These are vital qualities for yoga instructors if they are to work effectively with their students. It is necessary for yoga teachers to remember that a yoga teacher's training is never complete. Yoga is a way of life. The yoga way is a long term quest in which all of us are constantly discovering and developing. The moment official training is finished, a yoga teacher's training goes on with each yoga class that is taught and practiced: yoga learners become the teacher's teachers! And the training carries on through the teacher's private yoga practice. Yoga is really a quest for union of the individual soul with the limitless. It is a progressive and magical procedure for re-attuning ourselves once more to the Divine, to the Truth of who we really are. The studying, the s for that reason is without ending for both student and teacher: all continue to be always students of yoga.

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Yoga Strength and Stretch Class

Strength and stretch classes help in learning the basic concepts of muscle contraction. Many people use stretching as a warm up exercise or also for cool down. But, for serious practitioners, it is a complete workout in itself. For the aid of such people, there are strength and stretch classes. These classes prove beneficial in reducing stress, improving posture, strengthening the muscles. They also help in improving the flexibility of the body thus enhancing the range of motion of all body parts. They also help in increasing the core strength body and also work towards mental balance.

Strength and stretch classes basically include pre-yoga stretches and a few yoga poses. Light weight training and complex stretching may be included later. Normally these are started with low intensity and gradually the intensity may be increased i.e. the stretch complexity, the time each stretch is held increases. A regular stretch and strength exercise not only strengthens the muscles but also helps in healing of the troubled muscles. This also has several health benefits as the entire body as well as the brain is involved in the exercise.

Some benefits of strength and stretch are as given below:

Decrease in overall stress levels and muscle spasms
Strengthening of muscles
Increase in flexibility of the body and the range of motion of body parts
Improves balance, co-ordination of mind and body.
Improves overall health of mind and body
Improves circulation in the body and overall performance levels
It also help in reducing the pain in joints and muscles
Decrease risk of coronary heart diseases and helps fight cholesterol
Increase in the basal metabolic rate

There are different levels for strength and stretch classes starting from the basic and going up to very advanced level. The basics are generally for people who are not much acquainted with exercise or yoga and who have an inflexible body. It consists only of preliminary stretches and very little strength training. The intensity of stretches is generally low in this class. Then comes the intermediate level in which the stretching becomes more intense and a variety of stretches acting on each and every body part are included. Light weight training starts at this point. And finally there is advanced level in which complicated stretches are taken up. The intensity of the weight training also increases considerably. The flexibility requirement for the exercises increases progressively in the 3 steps. After completing each stage, the body becomes more flexible and ready for the next level.

Yoga covers both strength as well as stretch and hence yoga plays a crucial role. All yogic poses are basically stretch exercises. Yogic poses play a crucial part in these classes. So, for all those of you who are looking for a workout that would boost your immunity, increase the flexibility of your body, and help in stress management, strength and stretch classes are a good option.

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Corpse Pose - The Yoga Link For Relaxation and Liberation

Corpse pose or savasana is the final pose in many yoga practices that sets the stage for relaxation. While it may be easy to relax the body through progressive steps-from muscular to spiritual-the mind is much harder to tame. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the oldest texts on Hatha yoga from the 15th century, states "with this posture tiredness caused by other postures is eliminated; it also promotes calmness of mind. And it is pleasant to find that no mystery is involved." Final relaxation is thus another tool in the yoga tradition to achieve relaxation and liberation from the negative thoughts and emotions of the mind.

Muscular relaxation is one of the primary goals in corpse pose. This is achieved by scanning the body for tension and sustained muscular contractions or actively tensing muscles and releasing them to teach awareness of tension vs. muscular relaxation. Most yoga classes minimally focus on releasing this kind of tension during the session.

Autonomic relaxation calms the nervous system by reducing the over-activation of the fight or flight response. This includes lowering the blood pressure and heart rate. One way to calm the nervous system is through focusing on the breath during final relaxation. The breath calms the nervous system in three ways: natural diaphragmatic breathing, extending the exhalation slightly beyond the inhalation and natural smoothness. For these reasons, B.K.S. Inyengar in Light on Yoga, recommends to breathe fine and slow with no jerkiness and to concentrate on deep and fine exhalations for 15-20 minutes.

Emotional relaxation involves letting go of negative thoughts and emotions and replacing them with positive thoughts and affirmations. A simple technique often used in the gratitude release. As you lie in corpse pose think of positive thoughts, experiences and people that you have gratitude for in your life. Another way to achieve this is to have compassionate thoughts for someone that you have conflict with or negative emotions. Dwelling on positive affirmations such as "I can relax, "I am loved," or "my heart is open to receive" can help shift the mind to a relaxed and positive state.

Mental relaxation moves beyond letting go of negative thoughts. At this point, the mind may still have thoughts but there is an unbroken concentration that prevents one from attaching to the thoughts. They simply come and go like ocean waves. Mental relaxation can be as easy as focusing one's attention on the breath, counting numbers or repeating or internalizing a mantra such as "relax" or "let go."

Spiritual relaxation occurs when a personal is able to absorb the thoughts and agitation of the mind and connect deeper to the infinite space or Self that lies within. At this point the person, still fully awake and can transcend the senses and connect inward. This means that the personal is fully relaxed whether in a quiet yoga room or experiencing the sounds of a busy city. Spiritual relaxation leaves the body and mind in an energized and renewed state.

The next time you do yoga, think of the crucial benefits that come from corpse pose. It's easy to skip or reduce the amount of time given to this section of yoga practice; however, the benefits are very powerful in that they help achieve the ultimate goal of yoga-liberation of the mind.

For more information on yoga, breathing and meditation, visit our happinesslifetime.com yoga teacher training and meditation teacher certification resources at kcfitnesslink.com/yoga_teacher_training.html kcfitnesslink.com/yoga_teacher_training.html. KCFitnessLink is a registered school with the Yoga Alliance offering yoga instructor programs in yoga, yoga therapy, Thai massage yoga therapy, meditation and holistic health.

Darryl Olive, MBA, MHA, CSCS, E-RYT 500 is a 500 hour certified and registered yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance. He leads yoga teacher training workshops and is the director of programs for KCFitnessLink. For more information, visit kcfitnesslink.com/yoga_teacher_training.html kcfitnesslink.com/yoga_teacher_training.html, e-mail