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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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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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.

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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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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.

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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?

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