Category: Yoga

Religion And Yoga

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A religious rights leader in the US recently sparked off a debate with his comments on the inappropriateness of Yoga for those of the Christian faith. Arguments have since flown fast and thick on all sides over the linking of Yoga with specific religions.

As a proponent of Yoga as the ultimate challenge for the attainment of holistic wellness, I have been extremely pained to read all things related to the matter. For one, I havent been able to fathom the reasons as to why this should even be thrown on the table.

It is true that Yoga originated in India, the same country which produced great religious systems such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Indeed, India is one of the two regions of the world which has been the cradle of religious thought, the other being the Middle East which produced Christianity, Islam, Judaism et al.

However, Yoga at its best is a philosophical system which is thought to lead to self-realization. For as long as it has existed, there have been no religious incantations associated with the practice, nor does it propagate the worship of any one supreme figure. It is infact philosophical and not iconic in any way.

The Yogic systems prevalent today are a fragment of an entire pristine system, and are mostly only corporeal; they strive to keep the body healthy through various poses and breathing techniques. The only Hindu connotation I have found evidence of, is the sounding of the syllable Om while breathing, which is also equally construable as a shortening of Amen. Interestingly, Om and Amen have similar meanings and origins as well.

I personally know scores of people of various religious beliefs following Yoga, and who have found no conflict between their religion and the practice. Yoga, which is devoid of any religious connotations is even widely practiced by atheists who would have otherwise shunned it in the name of religious circumvention.

My personal experience tells me that one neednt even go deep into research, because a quick online search will point to the fact that Yoga is linked with environmentalism, healthy food habits, exercise, fitness and mostly good health, but definitely not with any strong religious associations. Even specifically searching for a link did not yield any results to indicate the gentlemans concerns that Yoga is a symptom of postmodern spiritual confusion.

I came across an interesting and relevant blog here which I understand to be a product of a mature and analytical mind.

I would be happy to understand just how practicing Yoga is a shameful act as the US Baptist has claimed. Looking forward to your thoughts, as usual.

Yoga Clothing And Its Benefits For Meditation

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Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung

In the literal sense, yoga refers to a system of exercises that help to control the mind, body and the soul of an individual. Practicing yoga helps a mortal being to reach a perfect state of spiritual calmness through the path of action, knowledge and devotion. The term Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Yuj’ which means to unite. Yoga aims to unite the body with the mind and the mind with the soul. Yoga paves the way for an individual to attain a joyous and blissful life. Mind is the central point of yoga practice and thus yoga aims to control the mind and draw it away from attachments or desires.

According to the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, practicing yoga (sadhana) is an art that connects the practitioner to the supreme or the ultimate creator. Practice (abhyasa) of Vairagya (non-grasping) and Meditation (dhyana) are keys to Yoga. With the practice of yoga, an individual attain the knowledge of spiritual insight and reaches a state of ultimate tranquility. Yoga Sutra of Patanjali states that yoga practices pave the way for an individual to reach ultimate freedom. Yoga forms and practices may be different from each other, but each style and methods are more effective than the other. The different patterns of yoga and its practice in various styles are merely different ways of reaching the same divine goal. Practicing Yoga helps an individual to experience a state of physical and spiritual well being. The mind and consciousness of the practitioner are brought under control with yoga practices.

Practicing yoga and meditation helps in achieving the common goal of unity – the unity of mind, body and spirit. A state of eternal bliss can be reached with yoga practices and the individual can feel the connection of oneness with divinity. Music is considered to be the best healer and concentrator. In yoga practice and meditation, music helps to create an apt ambiance by obstructing alien noises, thus helping you to concentrate and relax your senses. Today, with the popularity of yoga practice, there are many companies which offer Yoga DVDs and CDs to guide an individual to a path of holistic health. Spirit Voyage, as one of the pioneer record label company represents artistes who have a deep spiritual connection with their music. The meditation music from Spirit Voyage will enlighten your mind, body and soul and shall soothe you with its spiritual hymns and chants. The collection of Yoga Music CDs and DVDs shall refresh your mood and take your senses to a mystic height. Spirit Voyage also offers variety of yoga accessories like yoga mats, yoga rugs, yoga cushions. Yoga Books for children, General books for practicing Yoga and Kundalini Yoga Books will be a the best guide for practicing yoga. Merge in the feeling of an eternal bliss and experience the ultimate peace of mind with yoga practice and meditation.

The different body postures are the basis of yoga practice and thus wearing the right type of apparel is a must. The yoga clothes must be comfortable enough to allow free movement of various body parts in all Asanas. There are many companies which offer apparels for practicing yoga and meditation and Spirit Voyage is one of them. Spirit Voyage offers Yoga Clothing for women and men. These yoga clothing are all white or off-white colored, stitched in natural fibers. The white color absorbs all other colors and is the source of radiant energy. The natural fibers provide a high level of comfort to the practitioner and shall allow proper blood circulation through out the body. Choose the Women’s Cord Embroidered Kurta,the Soft Tie Kurta, Kundalini Kurta or Rayon Summer Tank Top for daily yoga practice and meditation. These apparels would help you to relax and achieve the full level of concentration.

For practice of yoga, it is always recommended to wear stretchable clothes which allow free movement of body parts. The clothes should be light-weight and must be of such quality that it absorbs sweat easily. The collection of cotton shirts and Linen Shirts are some of the most exclusive yoga apparel for men that Spirit Voyage offers. Cotton and Sweat Pants for practicing Kundalini Yoga, shall help the practitioner perform the poses with much ease. These sweat pants are comfortable and feature elastic waist and elastic around the ankles cuffs and thus help to practice the different yoga poses with utmost ease. Spirit Voyage yoga apparels also include Double Button Shirt, Rajasthani Wrap Pants, Capri Wrap Pants for men.

Choosing the proper clothing for meditation is an utmost necessity. Meditation apparels must be comfortable. The clothes which cling to the body or pinches the body parts are not apt for meditation. The apparel for meditation should breathe and allow air to get into the practitioner’s skin. Spirit Voyage offers apparels for yoga practices and meditation which include Kidari Flare Pants, Rayon Yoga Pants for men and women. The elasticity and the durability are the trademark feature of these apparels. Spirit Voyage offers cotton triangle bandana or head cover for both and women. These apparels will help to keep the head cool during yoga practice in hot days. Yoga blankets are one of the important yoga clothing and meditation. Spirit Voyage offers yoga blankets for meditation and practicing yoga. These blankets are made of sweat absorbing materials and provide extra height, helping to maintain the yoga pose. These blankets shall complement the meditation practice by providing extra warmth.

Spirit Voyage merges devotion in music and with their Yoga DVDs and CDs, it aims to guide every listener on an inward journey. The company, with its collection of yoga music CDs and DVDs intends to help an individual attain a state of purity, peace and tranquility. The Kundalini Yoga Music collection will melt away your stress and pressure and shall guide you into a state of relaxation. Energize yourself by listening to the pieces from Mirabai Ceiba, Snatam Kaur, Wah, Manish Vyas, Shakta Kaur Khalsa and many others and let an unearthly peace conquer you and your senses. Nourish your mind and soul with Meditation Music from Spirit Voyage and let the attributes like ego, anger, lust, greed all become oblivion entities. Connect yourself to the Omnipotent as your mind reach the state of spiritual perfection.

Natural Remedies For Painful Menstruation, Menstrual Cramps Or Dysmeorrhea

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A woman’s body prepares itself for a pregnancy every month and menstruation is a part of this process. If a pregnancy does not occur, the uterus sheds its lining which is known as menstruation or monthly bleeding. This passes out of the womans body through the vagina every month. Periods usually start during the early teens for most of the girls and end when it is menopause. This bleeding normally lasts from 3 to 5 days on average.

The menstrual cycle is calculated as the number of days from day 1 of the period to the day 1 of the next period. Most of the women have a 28 days cycle, while a menstrual cycle of 21 to 35 days is also considered normal. Some women experience irregular and painful menstruation during which they have menstrual cramps and severe pain. The discomfort due to menstrual cramps can make it difficult for a woman to carry out daily functions during the period. The pain and discomfort may start few days before the bleeding or at the start of the bleeding. It reduces as the period ends. Condition of excessive painful menstruation is called dysmeorrhea.

Primary dysmeorrhea is when the pain starts around the time of the menstrual cycle and is not related to any problem with the uterus. Secondary dysmeorrhea is when the pain starts after the bleeding and is related to problems in the pelvic organs or uterus. The causes of this pain may be: cysts, stress, fibroids, pelvic inflammation, anxiety or sexually transmitted diseases. Menstrual cramps are said to be related to a substance known as prostaglandin which makes the uterus contract.

Natural remedies for painful menstruation and menstrual cramps can be availed of for reducing the discomfort. The other treatments include medications like anti inflammatory pills, pain relievers, birth control pills, antibiotics or anti depressants. Some of the natural remedies for painful menstruation are as follows:

1. Aloe Vera: Intake of Aloe juice is said to be beneficial in treating menstrual cramps and pain.

2. Garlic: Include garlic in your diet or boil few cloves of garlic in water and drink this water regularly.

3. Massage: A soothing abdominal massage can help in this condition by reducing the pain and tension in that region.

4. Parsley: Drink parsley juice to ease painful menstruation.

5. Ginger: Boil a piece of ginger in a cup of water and drink this regularly. This is one of the effective natural remedies for painful menstruation.

6. Sesame seeds: Boil the seeds in water, cool, strain and drink it regularly. These seeds help in the condition of pain during periods.

7. Coriander: Another one of the natural remedies for menstrual cramps is coriander. Boil the coriander seeds in water for a while. Let it cool, the strain it and drink this water. This decoction will give relief from painful menstrual and menstrual cramps.

It is very important to maintain a healthy diet apart from following the above natural remedies for painful menstruation. Eat food rich in iron and avoid tea, coffee, refined foods, oily and greasy foods. Also avoid foods that are hard to digest. Include papaya, bitter gourd, cucumbers and drumsticks in your diet. A regular exercise regime or practice of yoga can help immensely to ease of the menstrual cramps. However avoid exercising during the menstruation.

Yoga In Our Daily Life

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Yoga is one of the best way for modern peoples to keep health always fit and fine and it is also help to make mind relax, fresh and active. Yoga helps us in many different ways like weight losing, control blood pressure, height increasing, managing the body weight, improving eye sites, and many more activities.
Yoga is an old set of theories and practices with deep root in ancient India. It intended the mind, body and spirit and thats why the individuals people of country is more aware about the yoga. Yoga is means of true happiness ad freedom. For our body yoga is beneficial because it improves our health and the diet becomes more balanced.
In yoga there are different Asana and Pranayama which are help to make the our body fit and fine. The term yoga derives form a Sanskrit word yuj which means to join. Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art work in which they rotate there body in different shapes to make all the harmonies of the body active. Yoga is also help us to make our mind sharp, active, fresh.
Meditation is also a part of yoga in which a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the conditioned, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or alertness. I would like to share a few basic pointers about what meditation involve the basic shared principle is to quieted your thoughts and mind.
Yoga is the another form of exercise some young men are said that yoga is for old men or women but its not true yoga is for all child, young men or woman, old men or women. Yoga is an art which makes our body always fit and fine. Yoga can help us in many different ways. We can make some money buy teaching yoga to other it is a good sources of income for yoga teachers. Some big you teaching centres can earn money by giving yoga certifications to yoga teachers.
In past several years yoga will becomes more popular in America where it was turned into a physical exercise. In America Hatha Yoga, is more famous than other yoga, with its postures, with increasing the muscles strength and the body stamina, and creating an emotional balance.
In the old age, people have to faces some difficulty in there lifes. Yoga is extremely beneficial in their cases and they need not to fear as it is safe. Yoga helps old people regain their joints mobility and flexibility. They should exercise on a regular basis to maintains their mobility. They enjoy great psychological effects from yoga. They arr very happy and their immune system improves a lot.

Basic Rules For Practicing Yoga

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Yoga is the art of living a sound and healthy life. By enhancing the present status of mind, body and soul and by uniting these three prior elements in a single chord one can lead a perfect righteous life. Different forms of yoga like Hatha yoga, Ashtanga yoga or Kundalini yoga are practiced for ages to help in synchronizing mind, body and soul. Originated in India thousands of years ago, this art and philosophy of yoga implies teaching all people, the steps towards a stress-free life. Regular practicing of various yoga exercises like yoga postures or asanas, breathing exercises or Pranayama, ensure a calm and relaxed state of mind. A healthy mind indicates a healthy body. And yoga when practiced with meditation promises double benefit as meditation wards off all the unwanted thoughts and worries from human mind, thus making it pure like a crystal. Both yoga and meditation yield best result if a little bit of yoga music or meditation music can be incorporated in the practicing.

The main aim of yoga is to achieve the ultimate physical, mental and spiritual well-being of a human being. There are some basic rules which should be kept in mind while practicing yoga. It is advisable for those who learn and practice yoga all by himself, to know these basic yoga norms, or else it may turn harmful. The Yoga DVD offered at the online music company, Spirit Voyage, contains these valuable tips on yoga along with the details illustration of every yoga postures. These DVDs are suitable for all, be it beginners or practitioners. People from allover the world who are day by day showing interest on yoga, find these Spirit Voyage yoga CDs and DVDs truly beneficial. Yoga In Motion by Shakta Kaur Khalsa or Refining the Spirit DVD by Yogi Bhajan are just appropriate for all the yoga aspirants.

The best time to practice yoga is morning as it makes a person free for the whole day from the tension of taking time out for doing yoga. If doing yoga in morning is not possible for someone then he must choose a particular time and stick to that time everyday. It is advisable to practice yoga on a regular basis because irregularity will not bring the proper result. There is no need to practice yoga twice in a day but at least 15 to 20 minutes in a day should be alloted for doing this at the beginning and then gradually increase it to 1 hour. Try and find a clean, airy, calm and noiseless corner at home, play some soothing yoga music and make the atmosphere perfect for doing the sadhana. A mindful work like doing yoga must be done silently. So, talking or conversing with other person at that time is better to avoid.
Though there is no restriction on normal food habit but the meal-timing is an important factor in yoga practicing. Doing yoga with full stomach is strictly disapproved by the yoga gurus. One can take a light meal an hour before doing yoga. It is always advisable to maintain a proper diet and stay away from any kind of spicy food, fast food, coffee, alcohol or drugs. Try to keep the mind fresh and tension-free at the time of doing yoga otherwise it may hamper the concentration level. Generally during illness one should stop yoga practicing and for women, it should be stopped during their menstruation periods. Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual by David Swenson or Yoga Anatomy by Leslie Kaminoff, Sharon Ellis can help the practitioner by enlightening him with vast knowledge on yoga.

Apart from Yoga books, Spirit Voyage also offers a collection of Yoga DVD, CD on every form of yoga be it Kundalini yoga or Ashtanga yoga. The soulful music of these CDs and DVDs paired with the heart-touching soulful voices of Snatam Kaur, Wah!, Donna De Lorry, Gurmukh, Deva Premal and other legendary singers enrich the collection and make the sadhana more blissful. Another collection of soothing meditation music promises to fill up the heart and reunite the human mind, body and soul with the divine power.