Yoga Stories - The Yoga Energy Arose In Me And Asked Me What I Wanted

I was returning from a three day learning immersion held in Saratoga Springs, NY. It was a gathering of learning professionals from around the world led by a learning visionary, Elliot Masie.

Traveling back, I was in Penn station, walking away from the long distance train and making my final connection to the local train that would take me into New Jersey.

I was suddenly nostalgic for the yoga community I had known from the yoga retreat that I had lived in for ten years.

The nostalgia intensified and there was a rising of energy within me. I became aware that I could make a worthy wish and it would be granted. It was as if there were an energetic window that had opened and spoke to me..

My wish was simply to meet someone from the yoga community where I had once lived for ten years.

It had been five years since I had left there, and I rarely bumped into any residents or former residents. That community was 90 miles away, and most people that I knew had left to go back to where they had come from, across the United States and in Europe and Australia.

Three Minutes Later: While I was sitting down on my local train, a woman passed me and turned around and called out my spiritual name, ... Devidas, is that you? It was a woman that had lived in the same ashrams I had for the last ten years, although we never actually talked before. She sat down next to me and we chatted the entire 45 minutes back home until my station stop.

Because of the energy that arose in me, and because my wish was fulfilled, I was swimming with gratitude and awe. And I was filled with the recognition that I was connected to a larger scheme of things that normally did not reveal itself. This scheme of things knew me and was taking care of me. I was connected....

Devidas Varga is a yoga enthusiast and publisher of TakeTimeYoga.com, which is all about taketimeyoga.com how to begin yoga. He has maintained a practice of yoga and meditation for 30 years, living in Ashrams in India and the United States for a decade. He has immersed himself in many styles and promotes the life affirming effects yoga offers.

Yoga As a Golf Fitness Program

Yoga has some standard exercises or poses, which will help the senior golfer in regaining his or her flexibility. The good news is "you are never too old" to start these exercises. As in most exercise you have not done in a while, it is always best to start slow. Yoga includes not only the poses and the movements, but also proper breathing while performing these movements is an important aspect.

It is recommended the exercises are to be practiced four days a week and in the evening just before bed. It is said by stretching before sleep will help with muscles altering and faster results. One of the aspects of yoga is it appears to very easy on the outside, but it is very active on the inside. Correct posture is important on or off the golf course. It can be a huge challenge to senior golfers.

There is a simple exercise, which should be practiced in front of a mirror.

- Stand as straight as you can and suck in your stomach so your navel is pulled in the direction of your back.

- Tuck your tailbone under and raise your ribcage up.

- Roll your shoulders back and stretch out the neck for as long as possible.

- Then you will breathe deeply for five to 10 breathes.

- Relax and do this 5 to 10 times.

By practicing this exercise everyday, you will soon see results on and off the course.

There are many other exercises in the Yoga regime designed to give you flexibility on and off the golf course. You might want to check into these exercises. They can be performed in your own home, unless you prefer the structure a personal trainer or group with a trainer type setting. The only equipment required to perform these exercises is a yoga mat. Yoga is a balance of body, breathe, and mind. With yoga you will be working on the flexibility of the body, the strength of the mind and the control of breathe. While you are exercising your body, you will also need to exercise your mind as well.

You have to push yourself or you will stay the same. You will need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone to excel. Without pushing yourself mental, physical and spiritually you will become sedentary. When you are exercising you will need to push yourself, but remember if your muscles feel uncomfortable it is okay, but if they hurt, it is not. For you to benefit from these exercises, approach them in the same manner you would a good game of golf. In other words, "whole-heartedly"!

Even though your golf swing is an important part of your golf game, it is useless if you can aim and hit your target. You need accuracy just as much as distance. Start by concentrating on your target during your pre-shot custom, but don't focus in a general way. Be more specific. Take for instance, if your target is a tree, don't just look at the tree as a whole. Look for a specific spot on that tree, such as a knot or the third branch on the left. If you are putting into the hole, you might focus on the edge of the hole. This exercise will not only help you hit your target, but it will also quiet your mind by giving the subconscious something to focus on.

Now you have focused on your target, the next step will be to hit the ball. So you will look at your ball, take one more look at your target to reinforce the image. Take a deep breath, and let out your breath slowly as you swing. Allow your subconscious mind to take control. Once your subconscious mind has taken over, you will stop worrying, and you won't over think your shot. The next time you play, try this exercise and see how it works. Most talented athletes will tell you mental discipline is just as important as your talent, maybe more. Your mind can work for you or it can work against you. Of course you want it to work for you.

To get your mind to work with you, you need to work on your level of mental discipline. To do this you start with understanding your thoughts. You will need to be aware of the thoughts you have in order for you to get a handle on them. To see how they are affecting you on the golf course. When you first walk up to the ball, you have a custom you perform whether you are aware of it or not. You will need to stop the negative thoughts and create new positive thoughts. Since most people can focus on multiple things, a good athlete will narrow his or her focus on only 2 things.

It is a good idea to incorporate into your pre-shot custom seven deep inhalations and the exhalation of seven through your mouth with your lips parted. During this breathing exercise you will want to choose two things to say to yourself. Make them positive thoughts. By practicing yoga, you will use posture to change your body from inflexible to flexible, to change fatigue into strength, and a chattering mind to a quietness you have never before experienced.

Many of the professional golfers are using yoga to better their golf. Preparing for a golf tournament is an extensive routine. One needs to tighten the golf swing, run through your short game, put yourself in the right frame of mind, and make sure your body is physically ready for the challenge. Or you can apply yoga and achieve them all. Even some amateur golfers needed to increase their strength and flexibility are looking to yoga. Athlete's must be trained and maintain flexibility to minimize injury.

Yoga is useful in obtaining that goal. Many of us think of yoga as an exercise in contortion by placing a leg on the back of your neck. Not true. There is more than one style of yoga. There is the physically active or a more meditative and gentle style of yoga. When you check into yoga, you will find several beginner yoga classes. You will also find tapes out on the market, some of the yoga tapes are designed specifically for golfers and the issues they face.

Check around for the style of yoga designed to fit your needs. You might want to check with the instructor about the instruction. Ask for specific physical requirements, the length and the level of concentration of the instruction in the class.

Discover How Yoga Can Turn Your Life Around

How can Yoga turn your life around? Where do you start? If you are a Yoga student, a steady practice is a good start. If you teach Yoga classes, and have students in need of help, where should they start? At least some of us see a need for a starting point, which is an early form of self-awareness.

In making a decision to change our lives, we need to know our perceived limitations. This viewpoint of limitations may not be based upon reality. Sometimes, a limitation is only a projection of our self-image. In other words: If I have low self-worth - are my thoughts about myself realistic?

The answer is: No; if I have a poor self-image, my thoughts would be limited by a negative mindset. In turn, a negative mindset blames everyone for everything. In such a case, nobody ever does anything right. Many complainers have poor self-esteem. Instead of designing a plan for the future, and searching for answers, it is easier to sit around and complain.

One more point about perceived limits: If your thoughts are based upon pure reality and logic, these thoughts will change with time. Any form of thinking is subject to change because it evolves with each life experience.

Therefore, when you design a plan to make a lifestyle change, you want to know yourself first. Any changes to the world around us must come from within - first.

Yoga allows the mind to find its natural balance. This Yogic state of balance may occur in the physical body first.

These subtle, physical changes, within the body, may be noticed if one practices Hatha Yoga (Union through Physical Self-Mastery). This is an early step for contemporary Yogis. People easily believe what they see when they notice physical changes in their own bodies.

The more subtle changes that occur within one's mental, emotional, or spiritual health, take more time and patience to develop. Hatha Yoga practice may be considered the ultimate answer to physical mastery, but it is only a stepping stone on a path toward happiness.

For many of us, our biggest step is training the mind to become our best ally. Self-induced negativity is one of the greatest setbacks to humankind. Sometimes, whole countries and cultures believe they are worthless.

This state of cultural worthlessness occurs when a society's leadership promotes pessimistic thought. Whether or not we live in a free society, the answer is to re-program our thinking toward a path of progress. Every form of Yoga contains methods for positive thinking.

© 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

The Purpose Of Yoga - Anger Management Secrets Of Silence

With the exception of mantra or japa practice, most forms of Yoga meditation require a bit of silence. Silence is a "teacher," which quiets the mind and helps us focus during meditation sessions.

Yet, how can you maintain control "in the heat of the moment?" The ancient samurai warriors, of Japan, practiced meditation before and after being "battle tested." We do not have to test our meditation skills in this way, but many of us are tested every day by self-control.

Yoga teaches us control, moderation, and timing. There is a time to speak up and a time to be silent. If we are screaming our thoughts out at the top of our lungs, we have not given any consideration to control, moderation, and timing. Shouting may seem necessary, but it tends to escalate conflicts.

This does not mean that you should be silent at all times, or that you should become a door mat. Knowing when, and how to, express your viewpoint, is a vital part of life.

An example of this is when we speak from the ego to protect our own interests. Even when our tone is measured and moderate, self-centered talk does not resolve conflicts. If your objective is to win the argument and prove your point, you will never listen or be silent at the right time.

The ability to listen emphatically to an opposing opinion first, and understand the other side of the issue, does resolve potential arguments before they start. Diplomatic negotiations operate the same way. In fact, if you look at the world today, constructive peace talks make progress - albeit slowly.

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. riyoga.com riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free Yoga e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

? Copyright 2007 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Some Principles of Yin Yang

Whenever we resist change we go into the dreaded property of procrastination! Clutter is really a way of pulling your heels to slow down the arrival of the foreseeable future. Whenever you clean out your own cabinets and corners, you're free to embrace brand new possibilities. But what if you're not very optimistic about what's ahead? Take it easy, there's a way to change that plan!

There are a number of steps to eliminating clutter. The first one is simple and realistic but the subsequent are interrelated and require a little more understanding of just how the galaxy is woven together and how we put it on.

The first step is to make certain that nothing is obstructing the entranceway, or blocking the doorway from opening as entirely as it was designed to perform. Get rid of anything hanging from the back of the door or jammed into the small area behind it. Just imagine that you're getting into the room sporting a flowing, open interweave robe. Are there any home furniture edges near or pointing at you could pull at that gauzy material? If there are any, they'll catch your aura so arrange them to enable a far more emotionally comfortable entry.

Additionally, avoid using any chair-backs facing the door since that is read by the person entering as a hand being held up informing them to stop! A chair facing the door is seen as the open and welcoming hand. (This is an important thing to know when setting up a sales business.)

It is helpful to think of the chi energy flowing into the room like a stream of water. If the flow is decreased to a trickle by a confined entranceway, you're limited as to exactly what you can do with this. If the movement is slow, some places might dry out, starved of energy. Within other areas, murky puddles may form, which causes stress and anxiety. Is this actually something you would like taking place in your living room?

The next key is actually something that a lot of professionals have spoken about - developing a strong target to the eye when you first enter the place. While this is an important factor by itself if your purpose is lowering muddle and procrastination, there is an additional refinement that needs to be thought about. Why is eye focus very important? When we go through a doorway, our own aura is squeezed. Once we step inside the room, the particular aura springs out and 'surveys' the room. Whatever message it gets creates a unique response.

This reaction is definitely an enthusiastic pattern which the aura shows on the doorway. If there is no sturdy focus for the eyes, they will stay in motion, checking and looking for a reference point. The flight or fight response stays active and this highly charged tension-fraught signature is transmitted. Everyone who follows with this pathway will really feel it and specific automatic reactions will take place. One of the reactions is to clear the palms. This is why piles of things often accumulate upon the home furniture closest to the doorway. Another reaction is to proceed quickly through the room to some safer location. This means you never spend peaceful time within the room to infuse it with your nurturing energy. You do not wish to spend the time there to put it in order.

Yogafit has a lot of very informative advice in all aspects of yogafit.com yoga poses, training, and everything else. She also has a number of yogafit.com yoga conference meetups several times a year and is known yoga guru and mogul around the world.

Yoga in Practice: Train Your Mind for Empowerment, Part 3

Sometimes, the pause in time, between intention and action, is the best time for Yoga practice. This gives you time to rationally focus on your intention. Of course, if this is an emergency, there will be no gap in time, and your action will most likely be reaction. Therefore, our reactions are not always rational, or positive, but with regular Yoga practice, that will change.

Earlier, I mentioned that you should "eat, sleep, and drink" positive energy. However, with the practice of meditation, and/ or Yoga, you can always develop a state of tranquility (Santosha). There are many reasons for this, but one of the first among them is non-attachment to the outcome of your plans.

This does not mean you should give up, but the best laid plans are subject to change, at any moment. We cannot control nature, or the universe, so we have to "roll with the punches." Whether the outcome is good or bad, we have to adapt to this life the best we can, and we should be creative along the road of life.

Life is a journey, but we are not entirely in control of it. When we learn to accept what we cannot control - that is also Santosha. This state of acceptance is also a form of surrender to a "higher authority; but to some people, this causes a feeling of helplessness. You should always maintain the frame of mind that -success is "just around the corner." Coincidentally, many students have this same positive feeling of hope and aspiration about their lives after a Yoga session.

If you are not in total control, how can success be so close? Life has "ups and downs," but innovators become achievers - when they recognize opportunities within their grasp. This is why you train your mind to react instantly to situations with sound solutions. There will be situations where you have control over the outcome, and this is the time when a trained mind has an advantage.

In order to second guess yourself about a decision, you need to have time. While you have that time for "soul searching," practice Yoga, meditate, pray, and come up with the best rational decision possible. When you have applied logical thought to the outcome, you cannot look back at decisions with regret.

Lastly, instant decisions depend upon how we have previously trained our mind. Yoga and meditation help you train your mind at all times. When you train your mind for empowerment, you will be able to make the most rational decision in an emergency. You will also be able to help those you love most.

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

The Benefits of Yoga

Since the beginning of the new millennium, yoga has really taken off in terms of popularity in the United States. Many people are turning to this alternative exercise routine because of its' benefits when it comes to overall lifestyle health. Although yoga is becoming more and more popular, people are still using life fitness elliptical machines and other types of life fitness equipment. Yoga certainly does not spell the end for health centers or gyms, but rather it serves as a compliment to normal work out routines. The great thing about yoga is the fact that people can incorporate items like dumbbells into the routine instead of getting rid those things altogether when they begin to practice yoga. Listed below are some of the health benefits of yoga, which is explains what this practice is a compliment to normal work out routines done at a gym or on gym type machines:

1. A yoga practice involves making sure the body is calm at almost all times of the day. People who like to do any kind of martial arts have begun to do a yoga practice to keep their bodies calm during combat with classmates or while performing their forms. Yoga is especially helpful to those in the martial arts who are getting ready to do their form in front of masters to receive their next rank or next belt, depending on the type of martial art.

2. Yoga helps strengthen muscles in all different parts of the body. This will help any athlete who wants to do better in any sport because most athletes are always looking to improve or at least maintain the strength they have in their muscles. This part of yoga is also great for anyone who wants to turn fat into muscle because yoga can also help with that also.

3. Another part of yoga is the endurance component. Yoga really helps build endurance to become better at not only yoga, but other forms of exercise as well. For example, more runners are practicing yoga in their spare time to help with improve their times. Runners especially turn to yoga as part of a marathon-training program to increase their endurance.

Because of the three main health benefits it offers, yoga is a great compliment to any kind of exercise routine or training method for those involved with martial arts, athletes, or those who just want to make their lives a little healthier. Gyms and work out equipment will not cease to exist because yoga is becoming more popular, but rather they may in fact do better now that yoga is around because not only does yoga help those who are already go to a gym, it may get more people to come to the gym. People who begin to exercise through yoga may decide to come to a gym to improve their yoga technique. Yoga is a great low-impact exercise routine that has benefits for just about everyone, especially those who have a lot of stress in their lives.

Connor Sullivan recently purchased a csmfitness.com Life Fitness elliptical machine for his home gym. He also ordered csmfitness.com/StrengthLifeFitness.html Life Fitness equipment to donate to the local high school exercise room.