How To find Tranquility And Inner-Peace

By Paul Jerard

How do you find tranquility and inner-peace? The answer is simple, but for the masses to practice regularly, is another matter. The answer is take a Yoga class.

Yoga contains many physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, aspects for the holistic health of mankind. Yet, how many real pro-active people do you know? If you visit a Yoga studio, Yoga class, or an ashram, you will meet many people who take care of themselves.

Some of the more well known Yogic techniques are asana, meditation, pranayama, mantras, mudras and bandhas, but there is a lot more to Yoga than techniques. It is the “Yoga off the mat,” which causes life changing results. For example: Let’s look at meditation a bit closer.

Many people practice meditation in the morning or evening, when the rest of their family is in bed. If you wake up early, the morning should suit you. However, if you go to bed late, then meditate at night.

This is the easiest way to develop a regular routine, create a steady practice, and calm your mind. It will take a few weeks to feel results, but they come from practice. What kind of results can you expect from meditation?

Some of the many Yoga meditation benefits include: happiness, emotional stability, creativity, and clear thought. You can also reduce stress, anxiety, moodiness, and depression, with a regular meditation practice. There are many more benefits from meditation, which can be measured on the physical and mental levels.

When you are not meditating, you can forgive others, give to others, be mindful, avoid judging others, show loving kindness, and do not seek rewards. You will see that rewards will come back to you, which is fine, but do not refuse loving kindness from others.

This is the Law of Karma. You perform an action and the universe responds with a reaction. You accept the reaction. You help people and people help you. We do not have to hoard our possessions, but we have a moral obligation to help those who need us.

Yoga and meditation have sometimes been accused of having self-indulgent practitioners by religious fundamentalists. This is interesting because Yoga and meditation have practitioners from every religion.

Self-indulgent materialism often occurs, when people are spiritually disconnected. Yet, Yoga opens the spiritual connection to God, which will result in the unification of mind, body, and spirit.

So, how do you find tranquility and inner-peace? Forgive the foolish because it will do no good to hate them, and it is a waste of energy. Give to those who need because giving is the greatest reward in life. Become a “fountain” of loving kindness and good things will be magnetized to you.

Some will ask, “Why should you forgive, give, be mindful, or show loving kindness?” The answer is: Because it is right; every religion agrees, and it is too much work to avoid helping those who need it.

© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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Yoga - The Psychological Benefits

By Michael Russell

Yoga is often credited with physical benefits such as better flexibility, stable heart rate, toned muscle and increased stamina. In yoga sessions and class, people are taught to stretch their muscles so that they can be agile and flexible. But for new observers, the benefits of yoga only seem to be physical. Yoga offers more than the benefits to the body. Studies have shown that Yoga also provides key benefits to the mind.

Interestingly, the psychological benefits are related to the physical benefits. One could say “with sound body, come sound mind”. If you consider physical activities such as steadying the heart rate, stabilize the nervous system, increase joint flexibility, all of these activities allow us to mentally transform ourselves. When one gets physically better, you can argue that the person gets better mentally. Studies have shown that people who practice yoga share a better optimism, better awareness and alertness and even appreciation for one’s surroundings. It ultimately begs the question does body and mind go hand and hand?

One of the most profound benefits of yoga is stress management. Imagine a stressful day at work or at home. The fast-paced environment requires you to be constantly worrying about the next thing. With yoga, you can benefit from relaxed breathing with a reasonable degree of control. Such activity allows your body and muscles to relax and think about peaceful thoughts, diverting your focus on stress. Even flexing activities could help a stressed person by loosening the tight muscles. Often when someone is stressed, the muscles are as well.

Like stress, yoga can help with confronting anxiety. Anxiety often leads individuals to think about their fears or concerns. Since Yoga helps you to focus, individuals can learn to turn their minds away from the anxiety and focus their thoughts on more tranquil images.

One practice of Yoga, called Anuloma Viloma, is breathing through one nostril to calm the mind and the nervous system. Studies have shown that alternating between nostrils help the connection from one side to the opposite side of the brain, allowing neurons to freely move. It’s said to balance the creative side and the logical side of our brains and help us to freely think.

Yoga is a form of exercise and it’s this form of activity provides great benefits psychologically. In studies done in Finland in 2000, participants were asked to partake in exercises. Based on this study, scientists discovered a connection between mood and recreational exercise. Those who participated in exercise at least two times a week had some positive effects on mood. There were fewer signs of depression and anger found among these individuals. Moreover, the ones who participated in these exercises more than twice a week were prone to be sociable, allowing one to be less stressful.

John Locke aptly pointed out “A sound mind in a sound body is a short but full description of a happy state in this world”. Yoga fits this description very well. The psychological benefits of yoga provide individuals a more balanced approach to our individual well-being. Yoga can indeed be food for the mind.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga

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Practice Yoga In The Office

By Michael Russell

People who practice yoga have found that only ten minutes per day practicing in the privacy of their homes or even offices do wonders to ease stress, high blood pressure, emotional imbalance and depression. It also can boost one's energy, improve concentration and help strengthen the immune system. Practicing for only ten minutes per day, these health benefits can be extremely beneficial to the over-stressed executive!

For starters, just practice a five minute routine standing right beside your desk. First do a chest expansion exercise which will only take you about two minutes. Stand straight with you heels placed together. Slowly bring both arms up and straight ahead of you with the palms turned outward. Stretch your arms so you can feel the motion. Now bring your arms straight back and upward as high as you can. Slowly bend backwards at the waist, keeping the position with your knees unbent and your head back. Hold this pose for five slow seconds. Now bend as far forward as you can while still holding your arms high. Keep your head down with your neck relaxed. Stay in this position for ten slow seconds. Then straighten up. This routine helps the spine, shoulders and elbows.

The head twist can be done in two minutes. Simply sit at your desk, place your elbows close together, put your head between your hands while covering your ears and close your eyes. Clasp your hands at the back of your head and slowly push your head forward until the chin touches your chest. Then, keeping your arms still, turn your head to your left and rest your chin in the left hand and grip the back of your head with the right hand. Turn your head slowly as far to the left as you can. Hold the position for several seconds and don't move your arms. Then repeat the exercise by turning to the right.

The back stretch should only take you one minute. Sit on your desk chair's edge and extend your legs outwards. Next bend forward and hold the upper calves firmly. Then bend your elbows outward. Pull your trunk down and relax all of the muscles, including your neck and let your head hang down. Hold this position for at least 20 seconds. Then straighten up slowly, rest for a minute and repeat once more.

If you perform this set of exercises you should start to feel a heightened physical and mental energy shortly after the end of your exercise regime. You can enhance your yoga program with meditation also. There are several types of easy meditation for the beginner and a fun and enjoyable one involves watching a burning candle while sitting in a darkened room. By fixing your attention on the flame and relaxing and breathing slowly and naturally, you can begin to allow your thoughts to pleasantly wander. The calming candle flame will help you to forget your everyday problems and bring you into a neutral and pleasant stress-free state.

If you try all of these wonderful yoga exercises just a couple of times a week, or better yet once a day, you'll notice your health and well-being will improve. Science has documented the effects of yoga and meditation by measuring brain activity. So go ahead, try these procedures and enrich your life!

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Yoga

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The Yoga Business Coach: Grow your Yoga Business with an Online Newsletter

By Alon Sagee

If you’ve ever read any of my writings about the yoga business, you already know what a fan I am of building business by building community. Yes, communities are organic, and it’s wonderful when they sprout up unaided, but the reality is that they usually require a catalyst –– something that reaches into the heart of what matters most to its potential members and magnetizes them. I call that catalyst Intentional Communication.

Intentional Communication is a focused platform of sharing the benefits and beauty of the yogic lifestyle with your audience and starting a beautiful avalanche of conversations and connections centered around what meaning yoga holds for their lives. Isn’t that what we’re here for –– changing the world one yogi at a time? But how do we spread our gift in the most efficient way?

I have found that of all the communication engines you could use to intentionally build community as well as your business, the online newsletter will produce the most rewards for the effort. The benefits can be dramatic, helping you to develop that inviting warm glow around your business, while, over time, significantly affecting your bottom line. For most yoga businesses, having an online newsletter is a really good idea.

Through this unique vehicle, your words you can help people feel important, celebrated, and a part of something wonderful. Plus, it provides you with an open, cohesive group of people that know you, like you, and trust you enough to do business with you. This, you will find, is your most important asset.

So, if the online newsletter is the most powerful means to grow community and your business for the lowest cost (aside from word-of-mouth, which will never be beaten), will the work it takes to put out a quality communication to your audience be worth it? That’s up to you.

Even when you embrace the idea –– like yoga, it can only work its magic if you actually do it consistently. Publishing only once every few months and expecting great results would be like a beginner taking a single yoga class in January and expecting to go into full Padma-Mayurasana by spring.

Most yoga entrepreneurs I speak with about writing an online newsletter are concerned that it will be too much work, and that, ultimately, they will run out of ideas for content.

“I just can’t think of anything to write about…” is what I hear as the most common reason for not publishing. But all you really need is one idea a month that would be of interest to your community of yogis. After 5000 years of positively affecting human lives, yoga has no shortage of great topics. For inspiration, an abundance of article ideas is available in books and on the Internet.

If you’re ready to go, here are a few tips: Remember to keep your content focused on one main theme; make it easy to read; uncomplicated; and leave your readers with something useful that will help better their lives. Write in your own style. You don’t need to be Rumi, just be yourself. Your writing does not have to be perfect, just from the heart.

To start your creative juices flowing, I’ve compiled some topic ideas for your writing pleasure:

- Interesting Yoga Community news

- Asana tips (especially the real-life benefits of doing the pose, not just how to do it well)

- Results of surveys at your studio

- Case studies and testimonials

- Student of the Month write up, with photo

- Recipes for healthy cooking

- Articles on related subjects (Ayurveda, Environmental issues, etc.)

- Humor

- Spiritual writings

- Yoga product reviews and recommendations

- Profiles of a staff teacher

- Contests

- Karma Yoga opportunities and events

- Beginner’s issues

- Interviews with experts

- Inspirational quotes

- Request for submissions/feedback


This list can be made even longer. Content will never be an issue as long as you don’t make it one in your mind. To spark even more ideas, ask your staff! I also recommend subscribing to some email newsletters on subjects that are meaningful to you, and actually reading them.

Once you are ready, there are several questions to be addressed and steps to follow in creating your own online newsletter:

What will you call it?
Name your newsletter in a way that is meaningful to your audience. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Mine is called “The Yoga Business Journal.”

How often you will publish?
I recommend once a month, consistently. No more, no less.

Who will you send it to and how will you get their email addresses?
If you have a web site, I recommend a section dedicated to telling people what it is all about, why they might be interested, and an easy way to subscribe. Most people don’t want to share their email addresses if they think you’re going to try to sell them something, so share the aspect of celebrating community as its main focus. Also (especially if you don’t yet use a web site), have a similarly worded sign up sheet at your registration desk.

How will you deliver it?
Sending out hundreds or thousands of emails from your own PC is very cumbersome and will take too much of your precious time. Do a Google search on “Email Marketing,” and explore one of the many low cost online services like Constant Contact, Topica, MailerMailer, etc. If you’ve ever done it the other way, you’ll thank me.

A very satisfying example of intentional communication in action comes from a dilemma I had when starting my own venture as Yoga Business Coach: Since I am such a proponent of building community in my own life, but don’t see my clients face to face, how could I be the catalyst I’m asking you to become?

Well, it seems that yoga does indeed inspire creativity... In the two short years since publishing the first monthly issue of the “Yoga Business Journal,” my newsletter is now being read by thousands of yoga entrepreneurs in dozens of countries. A big part of what has magnetized this vibrant group of like-minded people is my having created a vibrant, yet virtual, community.

Each month in my newsletter, I invite readers to an interactive “Business of Yoga” tele-class on a new and relevant topic. Admission to the class is by seva, a donation of money or time to needy individuals or causes in their local communities. The idea took on a life of its own and letters started coming in from all around the world. People constantly write to me about how this monthly opportunity to interact with other yoga business owners gives them a sense of belonging to something larger, a community that understands them… they tell me they don’t feel alone anymore!

So no matter your circumstance –– engage your heart and mind, get creative, and use this powerful tool to communicate intentionally. Endeavor to continuously build a community around your business… and thrive.

Namasté.

Alón Sagee,

The Yoga Business Coach

www.yogabusinesscoach.com

800.399.2977

Copyright 2004-2007, The Yoga Business Coach™.
All Rights Reserved.

Alón Sagee, The Yoga Business Coach™, is a consultant, writer, trainer, and public speaker dedicated to helping the yoga business community prosper. In over 20 years of experience, Alón has conducted training seminars for thousands of fellow entrepreneurs. He uses a lighthearted instruction style to demystify and humanize important business precepts, while teaching how to effectively apply them.

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Ayurveda And Yoga In India

By Monica Rai

Ayurveda is the oldest surviving comprehensive medical science in the world. The term is derived from its ancient Sanskrit roots - ‘Ayus' which stands for life and ‘Ved' which symbolizes knowledge. Ayurveda offers a rich, comprehensive outlook to a healthy life and its origins go back nearly 5000 years. To when it was expounded and practiced by the same spiritual rishimunis, who laid the foundations of the Vedic civilisation in India, by organising the fundamentals of life into proper systems.

Ayurvedic treatment essentially does not intend to suppress the main symptoms and create some new ones as side effects of the main treatment. The purpose is strengthen your constitution, remove the root cause and give permanent relief.

There are four main approaches to tackling diseases in Ayurveda:

i) shodan, or cleansing

ii) shaman or palliation

iii) rasayana or rejuvenation

iv) satvajaya or mental hygiene.

The treatment mainly comprises of powders, tablets, medicated oils etc. prepared from natural herbs, plants and minerals. Because the medicines are from natural sources and not synthetic, they are accepted and assimilated in the body mostly without creating any side effects. On the other hand, there may infact be some side benefits. Along with medicine, proper diet- rich in natural fibres, exercise and simple living style is also advised. These are imperative along with the medications. Panch Karma therapy is also used as a treatment in many diseases. This "panchkarma" or Five internal cleansing methods,is a most profound therapy in Ayurveda. Yoga teaches a very systematic and scientific way of life which is important to pursue both materially and spiritually.

Therefore, Ayurveda is not simply a health care system but a form of lifestyle adopted to maintain perfect balance and harmony within the human existence, from the most abstract transcendental values to the most concrete physiological expressions. Based on the premise that life represents an intelligent unison of the Atma (Soul), Mana (Mind), Indriya (Senses) and Sharira (Body).

India offers World Class Ayurvedic Spas, Yoga Centres and Medical Facilities, comparable with any of the western countries. India has state-of-the-art Hospitals and the well qualified doctors. With the best infrastructure, the best possible Medical facilities, accompanied with the most competitive pricing, you can get the treatment done in India at the lowest charges.

There is no doubt that the Indian medical industry's main appeal is low-cost treatment. Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain. For example, in April Madras Medical Mission, a Chennai-based hospital, successfully conducted a complex heart operation on an 87-year-old American patient at a reported cost of $8,000 (€7,000, £4,850) including the cost of his airfare and a month's stay in hospital. The patient claimed that a less complex operation in America had earlier cost him $40,000. Other procedures such as diagnostic services offer significant cost-savings. The health care sector in India has witnessed an enormous growth in infrastructure in the private and voluntary sector. The list of India Best Hospitals include Apollo, Fortis, Max Healthcare, Escorts, AIIMs, Wockhardt, etc. A few top Medical tourism providers are TaMedical.com, India4health.com, Mediscapes.com and Indiaheals.com.

http://www.indiaheals.com Healing and Travel
http://india4health.com - Medical Travel to India

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Four Easy Ways To Learn Yoga

By Deborah Carraro

There are many ways to learn yoga; classes, video, and even through fitness programs on TV. There are now many resources on the Internet as well as local stores, where you can pick up information and instructional material on many websites.

Here are a few of the most popular methods:

Classes: You can find classes by browsing online, checking with your local public schools or colleges or in your local yellow pages. Taking a class is usually the best way to begin. You can learn the basics from a professional instructor and then continue on at home at your own pace. A formal yoga class will usually be in a group setting. There are advantages and disadvantages in a group setting. One advantage is the sense of comradeship that you will enjoy, doing the exercises together. Another advantage is being able to personally get help on a one-on –one basis from the instructor. The disadvantage might be that when you first begin, you may have difficulty in keeping up with the group activities.

Video: Once you have learned the basics, videos are a good way to go. You have the advantage of verbal and visual instruction. You can move at your own pace, schedule your exercise at your convenience and it can be a relaxing way to perfect your yoga practice.

TV: This will work like a video except these lessons are usually free. You can usually find a yoga program on specialty ethnic channels, cable and public TV. Check your local listings for times and program.

Books: It is always advisable to get a few good books about anything you are involved with. The more knowledge you have about a subject, the better you can understand your yoga practice and why doing things a certain way is important. With a discipline like Yoga it is good to know as much as you can to understand the purpose of the exercises that you are doing.

There are a number of ways that you can learn more about yoga and be able to better practice the positions. The practice of yoga will affect you not just mentally but physically as well. When you learn and understand yoga you will get far more benefits from it and really improve your health.

Deborah Carraro is an avid nutrition, health & fitness enthusiast with a passion for sharing knowledge and experiences. As VP Operations for a successful online Natural Health business she has worked with the best nutritionists, fitness professionals and health experts.

You can find her online at http://www.YogaForOptimalHealth.com

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During a nightmare your body muscles which are under your control ...

During a nightmare your body muscles which are under your control (except for eyeball muscles) such as legs, speech, arms, etc are paralyzed--ie you can't run downstairs!! What she had was called a "night terror"--similar to what others do when sleep walking. The person is asleep, may occasionally wake up spontaneously, but until that time has no idea what is going on--night terrors are really most frightening for the observer vs the patient. To learn more about sleep issues pick up a copy of "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems".

For more information visit: www.melatrol.com