Meditation a Quick Fix for Stress

Meditating for just 20 minutes a day for five days helped to increase energy and decrease anxiety and stress , as measured by levels of stress hormones, a small study found.

Using the so-called integrative body-mind training method, which comes from traditional Chinese medicine, the study participants reported better attention and control of stress than those relying on relaxation training, which is popular in the West.

Although derived from Chinese medicine, integrative body-mind training uses aspects of other meditation and mindfulness training, the study authors said.

"A meditation method developed in China showed remarkably better performance among those who went through the training compared with those who used relaxation training," said lead researcher Michael Posner, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon’s Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences.

Full Article: Meditation a Quick Fix for Stress

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Research: Meditation Can Wish You Well

New research suggests that qualities the world desperately needs more of — love, kindness and compassion — are indeed teachable.

Imaging technology shows that people who practice meditation that focuses on kindness and compassion actually undergo changes in areas of the brain that make them more in tune to what others are feeling.

"Potentially one can train oneself to behave in a way which is more benevolent and altruistic," said study co-author Antoine Lutz, an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

How far this idea can be extrapolated remains in question, though.

"I think there’s no question that people can benefit from these practices," said Dr. Louis Teichholz, medical director of complementary medicine and chief of cardiology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. "I think the question is how easy is it to get trained enough so that it will make a clinical difference, and I don’t think this study answers that."

Full Article: Research: Meditation Can Wish You Well

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Meditation can alter brain structure

Kathy Sykes, a Bristol University professor, has long known that if she does not find at least 30 minutes a day in her frantically overcrowded schedule to lie down and listen to music, she is grumpier, more tired and less able to concentrate.

What Professor Sykes, who holds the chair in the Public Engagement of Science and Engineering at Bristol, did not realize until recently is that she was, in effect, practicing a fairly crude form of meditation. She also didn’t know that there was growing evidence to show that this ancient practice can make people healthier and happier. It may even increase life span, alter brain structure and change personality.

Ancient traditional therapies do not always stand up to close scientific scrutiny. But when Professor Sykes put meditation under the metaphorical microscope for the second series of Alternative Therapies: The Evidence, which she is presenting on BBC Two on Monday, she was surprised to find that the saffron-robed monks of Kathmandu and the white-coated scientists of Harvard shared more common ground than might have been expected.

Full Article: Meditation can alter brain structure

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Easy Meditation Techniques

It’s become common knowledge that many of our health problems stem from too much stress in our lives. Deadline crunches, hectic schedules and the constant reminder of slipping job security keeps us all on our toes and stressed out. While we are hardly willing to pitch a tent in the woods and leave it all behind, we could all benefit from slowing down a little, if only for a few minutes, to regain our sanity, perspective and even our productivity. This easy meditation technique

can be mastered in minutes and applied in the same amount of time. Use it daily to establish a habit of taking time for yourself and putting your mental and physical well being back onto your list of priorities.

Meditation requires a degree of mental allotment, which is always easier when you can retreat to a quiet, peaceful place. Now in today’s world, that quiet, peaceful place may be a stall in a bathroom (hopefully quiet anyway!) and that’s fine. Hollywood has perpetrated the image of mediation only being possible under a waterfall or in a monk’s monastery and that’s simply not true. Anywhere that you can slip away to and have just a few minutes of uninterrupted time to yourself will work.

Full Article: Easy Meditation Techniques

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The Deeper Aspects of Meditation

When we begin meditation, we might begin with a mantra, or a word, or perhaps concentration on the breath. We do this to replace the never ending cycle of thoughts and emotions that circle round us day and night. We replace our everyday thoughts with one new thought so that we can break this cycle of a very coarse mind. At this beginning point, it is important to concentrate on a very distinct and obvious object that is easy to identify and to which one can easily return.

As our mind calms down, and as our mind becomes increasingly more subtle, the distinct and obvious objects that we have been concentrating on begin to get in the way. Originally, our objects of concentration, such as a mantra, or our breath, were more subtle than the coarse ramblings of untrained minds, but as the mind calms down and becomes ever more refined, these objects, which once were subtle, now become coarse themselves, impeding our progress.

Full Article: The Deeper Aspects of Meditation

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Meditation Mantras - Personal Affirmation

For thousands of years meditation gurus have been using “Mantras” to focus their meditative thoughts to a singular purpose. Some of the most simple mantras are the “ommm” or “ahhh” sounds found commonly throughout Eastern religions.

The sound of ahhhh is commonly referred to the sound of creation. If you analyze most names for God, you’ll find that they incorporate the sound of ahhh phonetically. For instance, God sounds like “G ahhhhhh D”.

With this knowledge, you can activate the source of creation by repeating the sound of “ahhh”. While using this sound, focus your thoughts on what you desire to create. What you visualize while using the sound of “ah” will send out focused signals to the universe to bring you what you desire.

Let’s take this concept a step further.

Full Article : Meditation Mantras - Creating Your Own Personal Affirmation

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Buddhist Meditation Guides

This method of meditation relies on the control of your breathing. Make yourself comfortable and follow these easy steps, each step can be held for as long as you see fit. (This method is my own personal method adapted from the Buddhist Breath Meditation methods).

1. Start by taking long breaths, whilst thinking “re” on the in-breath and “lax” on the out-breath. Making sure to hold both the “re” and the “lax” for as long as the breath.

2. Whilst taking the same long breaths, become aware of each in and out breath.

3. While breathing in and out, take notice of the comfortableness of the breath. Notice whether the breath feels narrow, free, even, uneven etc. If the breaths don’t feel comfortable, then alter your breathing until they do. When you reach a comfortable point of breath, make sure you continue this style of breathing, allowing this sensation to spread to all corners of your body.

For example, inhale whilst focusing on the base of the skull and letting it flow down your spine, down your leg and to the sole of your foot and toes. On the next breath, allow it to travel from the base of your skull down over both your shoulders, past your elbows and wrists

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Meditation Is A Journey Inwards

Meditation is a common term and a common technique used to concentrate mind on studies, work or worship etc. Everybody has an experience on this. But when meditation is used to keep body and mind healthy, it has a deeper meaning. Again when it is used to realize the spiritual truth it has a still more deeper meaning.

Let us understand meditation so far as keeping body and mind healthy or keeping body and mind under one’s control. We are living in a competitive world. We are competing with each other for moving upwards in social status and to gain money and power more and more. Mind and body are overworked and remains under constant stress. We gain materially but we loose control over the body and mind. As a result body gets diseased and mind looses sleep, peace and happiness. The right solution to get over all these problems is meditation. Meditation only calms down this overworked body and mind.

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How to Meditate: A Guide to Self-Discovery

Product Description

This simple, straightforward yet powerful guide has ready helped hundreds of thousands of people reap the greatest rewards of meditation. Lawrence LeShan’s easy-to-follow and realistic approach allows you to bring meditation effortlessly into your life, no matter how busy you are, or how great the demands on your time are. His specific programs and exercises provide proven, practical tools for you to begin your journey and explore the many revealing paths of meditation

Here is one of the most practical guides to meditation. As a psychotherapist and researcher, Lawrence LeShan is more interested in the process and effects of meditation than the spiritual motivations. To LeShan, meditation means training the mind, and he likens it to physical exercise. Like a good trainer, he breaks down the different kinds of meditation into easy-to-learn steps and offers counsel about the best ways to go about it and the pitfalls you are likely to encounter. LeShan isn’t pure vanilla, however. He wrote at a time (the early ’70s) when meditation was still considered esoteric and strongly associated with the paranormal. Still, he keeps his feet on the ground and suggests that you do, too. Meditation, he says, helps get a new perspective on the world and to attain "an increased serenity and competence in being." If you are a beginning meditator, this perennial favorite is a good place to start. –Brian Bruya

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Stress Reductions

We all have stress just getting up in the morning. In the past we’ve written about the importance of taking the edge off of yours. This month we’re going to tell you why and how because exercise and relaxation are an integral part of the program to relieve stress. Just meditating can help you to clear your mind for problem solving. In people with diabetes, the fight-flight reaction does not work well. Insulin is not always able to let extra energy into the cells, so glucose builds up in the blood.

In people with diabetes, stress can alter the blood glucose levels in two ways. First, people under stress may not take are of themselves. They may drink more and exercise less. They may forget or feel they do not have time to check blood glucose levels or plan for healthy meals. Second, stress can change blood glucose levels directly.

Scientists have studied the effects of stress on glucose levels in both animals and people. Diabetic mice have elevated glucose levels when under physical or mental stress. The effects in people with type 1 diabetes indicate that glucose levels may go up as they do in the majority of people, but they can also go down in some. In type 2 diabetes, stress often raises blood glucose levels.

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Meditation Technique - Pranayama, Breath Meditation

For those that have been doing Long Deep Breathing and Breath of Fire for many years, the breath is so natural and easy that unless one is also teaching one might not easily focus on what the difficulty could possibly be.

Quite often students will fill the lower abdominal area of the lungs, then as the try to fill the chest area, they shift the air from the lower area to the chest, as they try to lift the rib cage, and do not actually keep the downward pressure of air in filling upwards, but instead only shift upwards, so that a complete breath is still only chest breathing and not actually diaphragm breathing.

The conscious awareness of the diaphragm is not apparent to every one so some means needs to be provided to somehow allow attention to the sensation of the use of the diaphragm to come into focus until the natural rhythm of the diaphragm is felt and the effortless force and flow of prana takes over.

Source: Meditation Technique - Pranayama, Breath Meditation

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How Long Should I Meditate

Each meditation is different - they work on different aspects of the mind and body, so the time varies with the technique, anywhere from 3 minutes to 2 1/2 hours. The common times used are 11 minutes, 15 minutes, 22 minutes, 31 minutes, 62 minutes, 1 1/2 hours, and 2 1/2 hours.

Start with what is comfortable for you. Even 5 minutes will bring benefits. The first benefit is the chance to simply stop your automatic routine, the unconscious patterns leading you through life without even noticing that you are alive.

How should I dress? Any way you like, and find comfortable and non-restrictive. There are several aspects of dressing to consider. The first is comfort. Some meditations use physical activity, and many people like to do some yoga or similar exercises to prepare, so you should dress in a way that will allow you to relax and freely do any exercises.

Full Article: How Long Shoud I Meditate

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Mantra, Chant and Meditation

Many meditations use sounds (mantras), sometimes words that represent big thoughts (Love, Truth, God), and sometimes just simple sounds. Using basic sounds with rhythm penetrates the mind and redirects the flow of thoughts to allow something new to come in, such as thoughts that break our normal., narrow, confines and fears, to help elevate us. The words come from many traditions, and can be in many languages. For example, a simple English mantra is: "I am, I am". Rather than words that you make up (because you want to go beyond your own patterns and affirmations), what is needed are sounds or words that provide a taste of the state you want to be in.

Even if the words and language of a given mantra is unfamiliar to you, they are not about chanting to something, or some god that you don’t know. Chanting is a energetic act that changes your brain, stimulates hormonal balance, and engages you in a special type of communication with your own mind, about truth and clarity.

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Meditation and Breath (Pranayam)

Many meditations also use the breath, perhaps simply bringing your attentions to the flow of your breath, or by consciously using specific patterns of breath, such as regulating the ratio of inhale to exhale, or breaking the breath into segments, or indirectly through the use of mantra. Since breath is correlated with your moods and energy level, altering the depth, rate, and pattern of breath can change them as well.

Be sure to follow the instructions for using the breath in a meditation carefully, and check with an instructor if you have questions. Begin with short times and gradually increase them as you get used to the changes they cause. If you feel dizzy, stop and make sure you are using the proper technique. Breath meditations create a lot of change and it is important to feel comfortable and balanced with these changes

Check to make sure that you breathe with a complete breath pattern (please see the section on pranayam for a complete description of the long deep breath). About 30% of people do not breathe correctly, but it is easy to change, and will have a profound impact on your metabolism, vitality and moods. Unless the meditation specifies otherwise, breathing is always through the nose.
Source: AskMeditation

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Simple Meditation Technique for Relaxation

Sit with a straight spine, either in a comfortable cross-legged position or in a chair with both feet flat on the floor. Relax your hands in your lap, palms up, with the right hand rested on top of the left. Keep the shoulders relaxed and the upper chest lifted slightly to support the spine. The eyes are 9/10 closed, letting in a little light.

First, just notice the breath, every part of the process of inhaling, and exhaling, all the little movements within your body.

After a few minutes, begin to consciously slow your breath.

Normal breathing is 14-17 times a minute.

Slow your breath to 8 or fewer times per minute (4 or fewer per minute creates a state of meditation).

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7 Wave “Sat Nam” Meditation

What will it do for you?
If you can build this meditation 6 seconds a day to at least 31 minutes, the mind will be cleansed as the ocean waves wash the sandy beach. This is a bij (seed) mantra meditation. Bij mantras such as “Sat Nam ” are the ony mantras which can totally rearrange the habit patterns of the subconscious mind.

We all have habit patterns, and couldn’t function without them. But some patterns we have created are unwanted. You have changed, so you want the habit patterns to change. By vibrating the sound current “Sat Nam” in this manner, you activate the energy of the mind to erase them and establish new habits. Consequently this meditation is a good introduction to Kundalini yoga. It will open the mind to the new experience.

A long-time student will do it to clear off the effects of a hurried day before beginning another deep meditation. After chanting this mantra, you will feel calm, relaxed and mellow.

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The Basic of Meditation

The basic idea generally associated with why people meditate is that during our day we are constantly subjected to sensory input and our minds are always active in the process of thinking. We read the newspaper, study books, write reports, engage in conversation, solve problems, etc etc. Typically, as we do these normal activities we engage in a constant mental commentary, sort of an inner "The Drama of Me." Usually people aren’t fully aware of all the mental thought activity that we are constantly engaged in.

Meditation allows all this activity to settle down, and often results in the mind becoming more peaceful, calm and focused. In essence, meditation allows the awareness to become ‘rejuvenated’.

Meditation can be considered a technique , or practice. It usually involves concentrating on an object, such as a flower, a candle, a sound or word, or the breath. Over time, the number of random thoughts occuring diminishes. More importantly, your attachment to these thoughts, and your identification with them, progressively become less. The meditator may get caught up in a thought pattern, but once he/she becomes aware of this, attention is gently brought back to the object of concentration. Meditation can also be objectless, for example consisting of just sitting.

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Chakra and The Channels of Energy

Inside every human being there is a network of nerves and sensory organs that interprets the outside physical world.

At the same time, within us resides a subtle system of channels (nadis ) and centers of energy (chakras ) which look after our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual being.

Source: Chakra and The Channels of Energy

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Reiki Healers

All healers use life force or Ki, but not all use Reiki . Reiki is a special kind of life force that can only be channeled by someone that has been attuned to it. It is possible that some people are born with Reiki or have gotten it some other way. However, most healers who have not received the Reiki attunement from a Reiki Master are not using Reiki but another kind of life force. People who already do healing work consistently report an increase of at least fifty percent in the strength of their healing energies after taking the Reiki training.
This was verified for me when I first began teaching Reiki. There were two clairvoyant healers I knew who had highly developed abilities. They could easily see the life force flowing through a person’s body, as well as see the aura and chakras. They could also communicate with a person’s guides and Higher Self. They were adept at moving negative psychic energy out of the body as well as channeling healing energies. In my twenty years of metaphysical work, they were the most accurate and effective psychic healers I had met.
They told me later they had doubted there was anything I was teaching they couldn’t already do, but that they took the Reiki training anyway, simply to support me in my new work. After the attunement, they were amazed at the difference they could feel between the healing energies they had been using and Reiki. They said the Reiki energies were more....

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Reiki, How Does it Works?

We are alive because life force is flowing through us. Life force flows within the physical body though pathways called chakras , meridians and nadis. It also flows around us in a field of energy called the aura . Life force nourishes the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions. When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body.
The life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted when we accept, either consciously or unconsciously, negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body.
Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy pathways, thus allowing the life force to flow in a healthy and natural way...

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The Chakras, The Energy Tunnels

Chakra are described or seen as vortexes ( spinning wheels) of energy which receive, regulate and disperse the universal energies we need to function . The may also be perceived as flames or flowers or cones or as pulsating energy. Chakra are real but the descriptions are spiritual metaphor. Through the chakra we are able to give, receive & sense energy. Each chakra vibrates at a different frequency and is associated with a particular color. There are seven main chakra in the etheric layer of the aura . and many lesser minor energy points . These permeate the entire aura on all planes but there are also additional chakra and other energy formations on each level of the aura.
All beings animals and even Planets, Galaxies ,etc. have Chakra or the equivalent but this text will discuss the human Aura and chakras.
Chakra is the Sanskrit word for moving wheel, the chakra are present in the energy body and extend into related locations of the physical body. There are traditionally seven major chakra and these function as pathways for energy to be taken in, metabolized and sent to the major nerve center nearest each one. the energy and information that is brought into and processed by the chakra and aura is a major unacknowledged source of fuel for our physical, emotional, mental, intuitive and spiritual existence.

Read the Source: The Chakras, The Energy Tunnels

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See the Aura Color

Some peoples can see the human aura . Some of us never have and some have on occasion but do not usually.
First off it is not a really big deal if you do or don’t see the aura . It really does not seem to have any bearing on a persons actual spiritual state in any case. Most people, when they do see an aura, do not see much more than a misty outline and often dismiss that as optical illusion or heat waves.
This is subtle energy so it is much more often quite light and ephemeral as the energy field is also pulsing and shifting constantly. The aura is not the optical reaction you see when you gaze at an object of one color for a long time then look away / It is not the spots you get in front of your eyes when you look at a bright light.
There are a multitude of theories and methods for seeing the aura most of them work. some are easier to use than others . Most people try too hard. Relax and kind of unfocus your eyes and allow yourself to observe, if you don’t see anything different than usual that’s fine.
When outdoors you might look along the top of trees, quite often the life force or aura of the trees and other plants is visible as a kind of mist or faint glowing outline.
Most exercises to see auras call for an area with indirect light kind of like that of a cloudy overcast day or early twilight .

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The Aura, the Energy body

The aura is the field of energy that permeates the body and extends out from it from two to five feet in most people some common names for the aura layers from the inner most dense to the outer finer or higher vibration layer are 1. etheric 2. emotional 3. mental 4. causal 5. etheric template 6. intuitive 7. cosmic. these names are by no means complete or definitive and several of the individual layers and the whole system is /are often called the astral body.
The aura or energy field is usually invisible to the physical vision but most people can learn to perceive it in one way or another with practice. The aura is densest close to the body and becomes finer moving away from it . Most human Auras extend from 1 to five feet out around the body. In more spiritually developed individuals it is said that they can extend outward up to 50 feet from the body and even further in some cases.
The Aura and energy body has layers and energetic structures and channels and organs within it. Trauma and emotional disturbance can create blocks and other damage in your energy body, if this damage is not repaired and continues to occur over a time then the outward manifestation of this is disease or mental or emotional disruption.....

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Mantra Meditation, a Meditation Technique.

A Mantra is a grouping of sound vibrations which have an effect on the mental and psychic consciousness. Although traditionally given by a Guru, in the absence of a Guru, the practitioner may choose his mantra. An important criterion for mantra selection is that it must appeal to the mind fully when spoken verbally.

Mantra chanting creates powerful vibrations which are said to be directed to the right "chakras" to attract divine forces. This process is said to mysteriously heal the spiritual, physical & psychological body. It is important that when the mantra is chanted, the words and their rhythm must be enjoyed and one must surrender oneself to this experience.

Mantras do not have any specific meaning. Their power lies not in the meaning of the word but through the vibratory effects of the sound that they produced when spoken verbally or mentally.

In fact, a Mantra should not be confused with religion. Just because a mantra refers to a Hindu God, it does not mean that it cannot be said by a Christian. Also, a Mantra should not be translated as this has the effect of altering the sound vibrations wherein lies the strength of the Mantra.

Source: Meditation Techniques - Mantra Meditation

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Chakras-The Seven Centers of Consciousness

A primary focus of Amrit Yoga is to build heat by charging the battery of the body, which is based in the lower three centers. As this energy is aroused and consciously directed from the lower chakras to the upper ones, our biological prana awakens to its evolutionary potential. Awakened prana , called Kundalini , carries out healing and cleansing at an accelerated level - resulting in the purification of the nerve channels in the body as well as cleansing kriyas - all of which prepare the body for accelerated spiritual development.

Chakra One: Roots, Alignment, Earth
Muladhara is the body in physical space and time, developing groundedness, stability and foundation. In Amrit Yoga, the attention is alignment in all poses, building awareness and strength in the legs - especially all standing poses. Anything that stabilizes and roots the foundation reinforces muladhara .

Chakra Two: Sensation, Flow, Water
In Swadisthana we become aware of the senses, sensation (pleasure/pain) and emotions that accompany each pose. We allow our awareness of ecstatic energy to build in the second half of the pose. Suggested poses include pigeon, bridge and the spinal twist.

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Managing Negative Mental Health through Yoga

Mental health disorders are on the rise throughout the world. This results in anxieties, fears, depression, inferiority and similar emotions. Therefore, learning the management of negative mental health is a must for all of us.

Yoga offers comprehensive solutions for managing this negative mental health .

Before discussing how to manage, we must understand the genesis of negative conditions in the mind. According to yoga, all negative emotions take root from the matter present in the subconscious. But how does this matter enter the subconscious?

The basic cause of this is attachment. We humans develop attachments to persons, things or emotions. This attachment raises desires and expectations. These desires ultimately lead to tensions, frustrations and conflicts. This affects the ego, which feels insecure. As a defense mechanism, the ego represses such emotions into the subconscious so that the mind is peaceful again.

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The Goal of Mantra

Mantras formed the vital tool in concretizing the desires of everyone in tune with Dharma; to establish health, harmony and happiness at the individual, family and social levels have always been the goal of Mantra Sastra; to work in tune with nature which we today call ecology, to promote love and harmony in society and to harness the powers of nature and individuals to not only improve the comfort levels but also to maintain health of one and all which we badly lack today.

The right intonations, emphasis on the clarity of pronunciation, ragas or melody, if any, help to produce resonance. Every letter brings resonance in a particular party of the body, chanting the whole Mantra generates a particular resonance pattern, the resonant wave moving from part to part in the body. Recognition of these movement and the associated resonance pattern in the physical body produces very special effects on the body - prana - mind - emotions - intellect combine. There is shaping, molding and transformation of each and every cell in our body, prana, mind and emotions. The chants of the Mantras, with their associated patterns of resonance, produce the special effect and result for which the mantra was designed and developed by our Tantric experts and yoga masters.

Squatting

It is also called Malasana - garland pose...

Source : AskMeditation.com

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Relaxation Technique For Pregnant Woman

Various countries have their own relaxation techniques for pregnant women . Pavlovian School of Russia was inspired by our yogic methods for girls andpregnant women. Hypnosis is one of the methods, which allows the subconscious mind to listen while the conscious mind takes rest and gets complete relaxation .

Reiki , (Pronounced Ray-Key), is an ancient Tibetan healing art rediscovered in Japan by Dr. Mikau Usui, Reiki is a Japanese word describing "Universal life force energy" . This method involves pranic healing.

Transcendental Meditation (T.M) reduces the metabolic rate, lowers stress, and also lowers the concentration of various biochemicals in the blood which are associated with stress, such as cortisol. TM produces a state of rest unique even to deep sleep or simple relaxation.

Acupuncture is another ancient method, which involves inserting hair-thin steel surgical needles into specific points in the body, which are known to take away the discomfort and pain and thus relax the body and mind.

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Stress and Meditation

One of the most common reasons that people cite for wanting to learn meditation is to reduce stress. Many stress therapists, of course, recognize that regular meditation and relaxation can be of significant help in reducing stress to manageable and healthy levels.

A considerable amount of research has shown that meditation has benefits on mental health.

Meditation not only involves relaxation (the cessation of unnecessary effort) but promotes mindfulness, which helps the stress-sufferer to recognize unhelpful patterns of thought that give rise to the stress response.

This section explores how meditation can help you to deal with your stress, and gives information on a program called “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction”, or MBSR, which is a program developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, and which uses the principles of mindfulness meditation to help long-term pain sufferers learn to deal with their afflictions.


Source: Stress and Meditation

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Understanding the Power of Mantras

EVERY matter - from the tiniest DNA strand in us to the largest of continents - is in a state of constant vibration resulting in the emission of subtle sounds.

The great teachers of ancient times had the power to listen to the subtlest of these sounds. They discovered that specific sounds energized specific portions of the brain thereby awakening extraordinary powers (Siddhis). They used these sounds to form sacred waords that are called Mantras.

Mantras have a profound impact upon us due to two reasons:
- The vibration effect of the sound; and
- The effect of the collective emotional energy behind that word due to constant repetition over time.

Benefits of Mantras

Mantras act upon our bodies by reprogramming the vibrations of the cells that have somehow gone askew. They restore the pattern of sounds at the heart of each and every cell, thus pushing the cells toward harmonious health.

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Meditation Tips for Women on the Go

Do your work, family, and personal responsibilities seem to persist with no end in sight? If so, you might think that adding one more item to your to-do list will make you go insane. Well, not if that one item is meditating. In fact, the more over scheduled you are, the more you need (and deserve) the benefits of meditation.

Practicing meditation not only increases mental clarity, it also improves career performance, deepens intimacy, enhances emotional awareness, and heightens sensuality. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Well, lucky for you, you can get all of these wonderful results without having to rush off to a mountaintop or go monastic with monks in silent retreat. For the non-stop gal who’s lost sight of that peaceful babe within, here are five fabulous tips for a quick mental detox:...

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Yoga for Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a life style related condition due to an imbalance in handling a glucose load and is not a disease . It is one of the several life style related chronic conditions with an end result of complications that are related to early aging changes resulting in blockage of small and large arteries.

There are an estimated 100 million diabetics in the world of which around 70 million belongs to heavily populated developing countries. Today, the health professionals are bewildered by the rapidity with which diabetes with its associations such as obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol , triglycerides are assuming epidemic proportions. This phenomenon is more prominent amongst Indians both in India and abroad (migront), which is attributable to the rapidly changing trends of globalization and demands on coping skills leading to enormous stress.

Article Source :

http://www.askmeditation.com/yoga-for-diabetes-mellitus/

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Yoga for Golf and Core Conditioning

The big buzzword in athletic training these days is “core conditioning“. What exactly does core conditioning mean and why do golfers need to improve their core strength? Core conditioning refers to the center of the body - the abdominals, back and buttocks. Core strength will enable the golfer to maintain proper spine alignment throughout the golf swing and develop a consistent, repeatable golf swing. The walls of the abdominal cavity are supported entirely by the strength of the muscles located there, as no bones provide support for this area. Weak abdominal will stress the low back as the muscles do not provide adequate support for the spine.

Read full article here.

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Top Ten Diet

You may not know the difference between Atkins, Scarsdale, or Dr. Phil, and frankly, you shouldn’t have to. Eating just isn’t that complicated. Here are 10 simple guidelines. It may not be enough info to get you onto the cover of Muscle & Fitness, but follow these tips and your body will be on a steady path to salvation.

1. Eat at home. Or, at least, don’t eat at convenience stores, fast food chains, gas stations, or in the break room at your office. All of these places are filled with mainly junk food. As a society, if we did nothing but avoid Big Gulps, French fries, chips, and processed meats, we’d all be a lot thinner. If you can avoid these places, it starts to become challenging to eat poorly. When you don’t avoid them, it’s almost impossible to have a balanced diet.

Source : http://www.askmeditation.com/top-ten-diet-tip/

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Yoga and Meditation

I have to confess that I’m no yogi! I did Iyengar-style Yoga fairly regularly for several years a long time ago, and I still do the occasional class to stop myself from getting too stiff. I would like to do it more regularly, but … well you know how it is. Keeping up a regular meditation practice and running an online meditation center take up a lot of time. So I’m not setting myself up as some sort of an expert.

What I do want to do is first say just a few words about the benefits I’ve experienced from yoga in relation to meditation, and then introduce some yoga asanas (postures) taught by Dharmapriya, who is a meditator and yoga teacher from Canada who now lives in Germany.

I can see four ways in which yoga helped me in my meditation practice and life

Article source (full article):
http://www.askmeditation.com/yoga-and-meditation/

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Beginner : Buddhisme Relaxation

Buddhism offers a rich variety of meditation practices. The following basic exercise in focusing attention comes from B. Alan Wallace’s The Attention Revolution.

Begin by sitting on a cushion with your legs crossed or, if that’s uncomfortable, in a chair or even lying on your back, but always with your back straight and body relaxed. Your eyes may be closed, half-closed or open.

Be at ease. Be still. Be vigilant.

Take three slow, gentle, deep breaths, breathing in and out through the nostrils. Let your awareness permeate your entire body as you breathe, noting any sensations that arise. Now settle your respiration in its natural flow. Observe the entire course of each in- and out-breath, noting whether it is long or short, deep or shallow, slow or fast. Don’t impose any rhythm on your breathing. Let the body breathe as if you were fast asleep, but with your mind vigilant.

Full Article:

http://www.askmeditation.com/beginner-buddhisme-relaxation/

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The History of Meditation

“Yoga” and “meditation” seem to have become trendy words recently, and even trendier practices. But for all their modern applications, both yoga and meditation have been around for a long, long time.

For more than five thousand years, meditation has been a part of human life. Though it has its roots in Hinduism, most religions throughout the globe practice one form of meditation or another.

Meditation in Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, better known as Gautama Buddha, was the founder of Buddhism thousands of years ago. Originally a pampered prince, he fled the palace and sought a life of spiritual enlightenment rather than material wealth. After meditating beneath a sacred fig tree for 49 days, Siddhartha attained enlightenment, which allowed him great insight into the cause of human suffering, as well as the process needed to eliminate it.

Source (Full Article):

http://www.askmeditation.com/the-history-of-meditation/

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Introduction to Yoga and Meditation

When you practise Yoga with genuine interest and commitment - taking your mind and body ever deeper into the postures - you become more and more conscious of your states of mind. In this way Yoga challenges your creativity and ability to throw yourself wholeheartedly into a discipline. As a result you will experience your aliveness in a more intense and refined way, and your general awareness will increase.

Normally when we talk of Yoga in the West, what we mean is Hatha Yoga. But in India, the word ‘Yoga’ refers not only to physical postures but also to methods of spiritual development in general. Nonetheless, Hatha Yoga is not concerned simply with the physical body on a crude material level but rather with the body as a vehicle for liberating psychophysical energy, refining one’s sensory perception, and increasing awareness.

Read More at AskMeditation.com

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Meditation and Depression

Along with stress (which I’ve written about elsewhere on Wildmind), depression is another deeply unpleasant, and sometimes devastating, experience that motivates people to learn to meditate.

Can meditation be useful for those who have a tendency to feel depressed? And can those whose depression is caused by chemical imbalances (e.g. those who live with bipolar disorder or manic-depression) usefully meditate?

I am convinced that meditation can be very helpful for depression, whether the depression is situational (caused by external events) or organic (caused by chemical imbalances in the brain).

Click here to read full article

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Yoga and Weight Loss - Benefits of Yoga

An important part of a balanced health and wellness program is managing your body composition and understanding what is a healthy body weight for your body type. A consistent Yoga practice, Yoga diet, and observance of Yoga principles and lifestyle habits can help you find this balance in managing your body weight.

Obesity is correlated to numerous health problems and diseases like heart disease, diabetes, musculo-skeletal disorders, digestive disorders, and high blood pressure. Obesity often shortens one’s life span. Excess body weight physically drains the body of vitality and energy.

How Can Yoga Decrease Body Fat and Manage Body Weight?

Read the full article here..

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What is Meditation?

Aside from determining its physiological effects, defining the actual act of meditation can be as elusive as imagining the sound of one hand clapping. In his book, “What is Meditation?“ (Shambhala Publications, 1999), Rob Nairn talks about it as a state of “bare attention.” He explains, “It is a highly alert and skillful state of mind because it requires one to remain psychologically present and ‘with’ whatever happens in and around one without adding to or subtracting from it in any way.”

The physical act of meditation generally consists of simply sitting quietly, focusing on one’s breath, a word or phrase. However, a meditator may also be walking or standing. It isn’t unusual, in fact, to see a meditating monk in the highlands walking a few steps and then lying prostrate over and over again until he reaches his destination many miles away.

Click here to read full article

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