Yoga means union and yet there are so many different types of yoga practice available today.

Isn’t it bewildering for a person to decide which one to adopt? Nevertheless, look for a class where you live and join as soon as possible because an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theoretical knowledge. Yoga is a hands-on experience rather than theory.

So many types…

Ashtanga Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Bikram Yoga, Jivamukti Yoga, Shambavi Yoga, Iyengar yoga, Power Yoga, Sivananda Yoga, Vini Yoga, Kundalini yoga, Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, and Taoist Yoga  …the list goes on!

There are so many types and don’t worry, we are not going to explain the different genres or types here. On the other hand, we wish to point out that it is more important to do it than read about it.

Benefits of Yoga

Regular practice of yoga regardless of the type helps you improve your flexibility.  Not only that, but it also tones up your muscles for strength and vitality. In addition, your circulation and cardio health goes up by leaps and bounds! Besides Yoga helps you sleep better, improving your posture and energy levels.  Not to mention a decrease in anxiety and depression and a host of other health benefits!

In gratitude …

Practice, practice, and practice!

If you want a beautiful flower, you need to prepare the ground, use manure and water so as to get the flower. Same way, yoga is a foundation the result being your flowering of peace and health.

The only way to improve your health and strength is not by reading books on yoga but by practicing diligently, day by day. The more you practice the better is the result that you want to show the world.

Thanks for reading this post. Take care and practice and look better. If you have any comments, please post them.

Meditation and its methods

Meditation and its methods is a vast subject. Meditation happens when you let go of doing. Doing takes one away from meditation.  In other words, meditation happens when you let go of doing. Therefore moving out of the mind is the beginning of meditation. It happens when you let go of doing.  So to be in a meditative state means you are in a state of ongoing stillness.

Type of meditations

When you say meditation, it means different things to different people. A lot of people think sitting somewhere quietly contemplating something without stirring a bit- frozen, immobile and still. That is to say, sit quietly and you would soon become a Buddha!

Try it and you will find your mind wavering more, starts thinking about all kinds of ideas, people and generally becoming more restless than before.  Sitting quietly where the grass grows by itself is quite another thing. There the idea of letting go is there, where you remain a spectator or better still a witness, watching the thoughts come and go.

With a mind that is akin to the waves of the sea, you can never be in a meditative state. You have to drop your mind and all its ideas of “control.”  The mind wants to control everything including meditation. It says I am in control, I am the doer, I am in charge! This very idea prevents meditation from happening to you. Dhyan is moving out of mind.

Methodology

We talked about meditations and its definition or description.  There is a practical side to it, that is more important.  The ‘doing’ part! In fact, it is a lot like swimming.  The actual act of swimming is different from describing the pool, the temperature of the water, the costume to wear while swimming and so forth. 

Meditating for 15 to 20 minutes a day is more important than reading lots of books on yoga and dhyan.  The accent is on the practical side. The more time you spend in dhyan, the better.

Active Meditations

There are many meditations like Dynamic, Kundalini and many others like Nataraj Meditation that you could start doing to get a taste of it.  You could also visit many meditation centers across the length and breadth of the country you are living in.

Yoga Dhyan Center is one place where you could join and do these meditations regularly. It is recommended to do these meditations for a period of 21 days at a stretch so that you would get a basic idea of the beautiful journey called life!

Fasten your seat belt and Good luck!

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Yoga for better living

Yoga means union…union of physical, mental and spiritual …It is not enough to have a sound body alone without a clear mind.  Spiritually healthy implies you are one with the world. Well integrated and ready for any eventuality.

The goal of yoga

The goal of yoga is to have peaceful and crystal clear mind coupled with a healthy and supple body.  As a matter of fact, Hatha yoga addresses this aspect though the physical side of the individual. The body is the temple. Look how much of abuses and lack of attention it has witnessed so far!

Young girl practicing yoga on the beach

The time has come to respect it. Accept your body as it is, accept it totally without any condemnation or criticism. Once you love your body, slowly see how it responds back to you with its strength and robust health to support you in your endeavors!

Hatha yoga maybe practiced by different age groups.  Even person of any physical condition such as obesity and stiffness in joints can start the practice.  As the practice or sadana deepens, all these negativeness drop by themselves!

In Yoga Dhyan Center, yoga for better living is a way of life.  One needs to do dhyan along with yoga, as it is the software and yoga is the hardware, to borrow from the computer terminology.  It is actually a fitting description because, if you have a PC that has no software, how to use it?

Meditation is the software that needs to be installed on the yogic body, so that together, it will take us forward in our journey in a healthy and robust way.

8 step pathway:

1. Yama
2. Niyamma
3. Asana
4. Pranayama
5. Pratyahara
6. Dharana
7. Dhyana
8. Samadhi

We will see in depth what each step means in our day to day life. This will continue in the next part. Kindly share your  comments here. Thank you.

Introduction: 

What are the 3 P’ s of Tai chi?

• Practice
• Persistence
• Perseverance

Let us look at each of these P’s separately.

The first being, Practice.

It is important to practice doing the forms. There are a few basic requirements that needs to start before practicing forms per se. They are Nei Gung and Qi Gong. Each of these breathing techniques and practices bring about so much strength and vitality to your inner organs, doing forms after that becomes simple.

Meditation in motion

Tai Chi on lake

Meditation in motion means a flowing non hurried way of doing the forms. Relentless practice is the key & the only way to doing the forms gracefully is more and more of practice.

The second P:

Persistence is an offshoot of attitude, shall we say; Reason is, if your attitude becomes a little lukewarm, then the motivation to doing takes a backseat. No matter what, never say die attitude will egg you on to keep going at your practice or sadana.

The third P:

The dictionary defines Perseverance as, “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success” which is almost the corollary of the second P! Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, constant practice makes you stay committed to the activity.

Summary

Tai Chi is a gift to the world from China…the land of many zen masters and Tao masters. Even the medical fraternity has acknowledged that regular practice of Tai Chi brings in more harmony, balance in one’s gait, especially in the elderly and prevents falls and imbalance in their AOL(activities of daily living).