Imagine a World without Possessions

Imagine There's No Heaven, It's Easy If You Try, No Hell below Us, above Us Only Sky, Imagine All the People Living for Today. Imagine There's No Countries, It Isn't Hard to Do, Nothing to Kill or Die for, and No Religion Too. Imagine All the People Living Life in Peace. Think about It.

It's hard to imagine, with the information today and even 50 years ago that most people still believe in religions all over the world, just because they were raised to believe in them. Religions of the future will have to adapt to change, a little faster as more people read articles like mine to promote education within your religion.

Find out a little bit more about Your Religious Freedom

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a religous help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Make A Live Out Of Your Life
Low Energy People

Yoga and the Path to Prosperity in Difficult Economic Times

How in the world can Yoga help you find prosperity? Where does the path to prosperity begin? It's a tough economy out there; how can I think about anything other than survival? These questions are asked more often lately, than most of us have heard in a lifetime, but let's address each one and you will find your path toward prosperity.

Where does the path to prosperity begin? Much like Yoga practice, the path to prosperity begins within each of us. One key is that we have to feel that we make a difference in this lifetime. This is not a difficult task, but it requires that you support your friends, family, colleagues, and associates, in times of need. Just by listening, you can make a difference.

You can create a culture of prosperity within and share it with others. The result is the same as the Law of Karma and the Law of Attraction. The positive energy you send out will always come back to you, even when you do not want anything for it.

It's a tough economy out there; how can I think about anything other than survival? If all you can think about is survival, you and your family will likely survive. This applies to any situation, whether it is economic or life threatening.

The reason being: Some of our ancestors survived the Ice Age, wars, slavery, plagues, and holocausts, with the next meal as their only daily goal. Some of them thought ahead, planned for better times, and created inventions. Seeking prosperity is a process of setting your sights on a higher level of goals.

In order to plan ahead, you need "spare time." It does no good to dream about lofty goals, if your family goes to bed hungry. Basic survival, in the form of food, clothing, and shelter, take priority over planning ahead. However, once your primary needs are met, you can afford to find solutions for a better life.

How in the world can Yoga help you find prosperity? Yoga has spread worldwide for many reasons. It is inexpensive to practice, and it holds the keys of many gateways that lead toward a better quality life. In comparison to any vice, Yoga is less expensive, yet many of the world's poor often spend their last penny on bad habits.

Each style of Yoga is different, but all of them enhance physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Within every religion, gender, nationality, age, and social status, Yoga practitioners can be found. The reason is simple: Yoga allows people a formula to end suffering. For this reason, Yoga will continue to flourish worldwide.

Copyright 2009 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.aurawellnesscenter.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

3 Rituals a Day For a Happier You

There aren't any tools that I'm aware of to bring about spontaneous long-lived-happiness. But there are a number of tools that when practiced consistently help erode unproductive thought patterns and foster an environment more conducive to happiness and peace.

Many of us have a scarcity of time and money. Many of us are around people a large portion of the day. Many of us have trouble starting and maintaining new routines.These blocks are real BUT they don't need to prevent us from being happy.

Here are some step-by-step suggestions for incorporating rituals in your life. Each of them can be practiced for short periods of time, many in your car or at your desk.

To begin....from the list of suggested rituals below:

1. Pick 3-5 rituals that appeal to you
2. For the next 7 days try 1 ritual a day. It can be the same ritual or a different one each day.
3. Allow 10 minutes for each ritual.
4. After 7 days, start practicing 3 rituals a day. They can be practiced one after the other or at different times of the day. It doesn't matter which rituals you select, or if you create your own rituals. The purpose is to develop a ritual, not to perfect a ritual.
5. If you miss a day, forgive yourself, and start-over the next day.

Suggested Rituals:

1. Write it out. Purge your brain chatter by letting it out on paper. Nowhere have I seen this better described than in The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Chapter, "The Basic Tools". The author, Julia Cameron calls them "Morning Papers" - and suggests writing 3 pages every morning before you do anything else. It's meant as a form of meditation, and not intended to be a work of art. Just let what ever come to the pen come, even if it's "I don't feel like writing anything". These 3 pages can be affirmations, complaints, conversations with God, questions, requests, or anything else as long as there's not a lot of thinking involved. Just write, don't think.
2. Mantra. Chant a mantra anyway your like....in English, Sanskrit, Latin, Hebrew, silently, out loud, along with a CD, with mala beads, using a rosary. There's no right way - just choose your mantra and work with it for 10 minutes a day. My friend Heather, owner of the Roslindale Yoga Studio in Boston chants her mantra using mala beads in her car, in the driveway when she gets home from work each day.
3. Hatha Yoga Postures. Allow your spine to move, and it may be a different sequence each day depending on your energy level and location. Here are a few ideas.

High energy days: 3 sun salutations, crescent lung with a twists for 5 breaths toward each side, half-moon for 5 breaths on each side, conclude in rag-doll for 10 breaths Low energy days: lie on your back in savasana for 10 breaths, extend arms long overhead and stretch your entire body for 5 breaths, roll onto your belly and come into sphinx pose for 15 breaths, move through 4-6 cat/cow poses, ease back into child's pose with arms extended in front for 5 breaths, staying in child's pose walk fingertips toward the right until you feel a stretch on the left side of your rib cage and hold for 5 breaths, walk fingertips over to the left side and hold for 5 breaths, come onto your back and ease into a gentle reclined twist, taking 10 breaths on each side, conclude with 20 breaths in savasana. Instructions for postures noted above may be found at the Yoga Journal website.

4. 10 minutes of listening to ambient music.
5. Walk it out. Take a brisk or a slow meditative walk, depending on your energy level. Try not to carry anything in your hands or over your shoulder or to wear anything uncomfortable. The more comfortable your body is, the less your mind will have unnecessary distractions to cling to. Just let your mind go where it goes and keep moving.
6. Say it loud. Speak out-loud whatever, and REALLY whatever is bouncing around on your mind. It's not a conversation, you're not talking to anyone, rather you're using your voice to let go of what you're carrying in your mind. Scream, whisper, speak firmly or gently...just say it out loud and let it out of your mind. This may be most appropriate in your car or when you're alone at home, but I know people who put their phones to their ears and do this while walking down the street. Might feel a little goofy at first, but verbally purging and not having to worry about anyone else's feelings during the process can be powerful for mental cleansing.
7. Step inside a house of worship. Ideally, this is done when an event or service is not taking place and the house of worship is empty. Just allow the silence or sounds seep into you and feel the sensations of being in a place with spiritual energy. It doesn't even need to be a house of worship of your chosen religion. Just allow the sensations to ensconse you for 10 minutes before re-entering the busy world.
8. Smell it. Expose yourself to a favorite, calming scent for 10 minutes and close your eyes. Lavender, cinnamon, vanilla, sandalwood are some that work well for me.
9. Pranayam (breathe). Drawing from traditional yoga breathing practices, we can raise our energy level (kapalabati breath), balance our mind (nadi shodhana breath) and use many other pranayam tools for dramatically altering our state of mind in a short period of time. Yoga Journal has some great instructional articles on pranayam.
10. Disconnect. Shut of everything for 10 minutes. Really shut off. Don't just avert eye contact with that blinking red light on your blackberry, actually use the "off" button. Turn off your computer (i.e. shut down for real, without letting the motor keep running) and turn of any other gadgets, radio, GPS, phone, etc. Just be disconnected for 10 full minutes and sit or lie down with your eyes closed or softly open.

For suggestions for mantras and ambient music, please visit the Florian Yoga Companion Blog.

Deborah Bernstein is a yoga teacher, owner of Florian Villa Yoga Retreats on St. John, and former corporate finance director of a Fortune 500 company. A portion of all proceeds from Deborah's yoga retreat business and book sales helps families of fallen firefighters and disabled veterans.

Deborah is the author of the book, "What is Yoga? Answered in 101 Bite-Sized Pieces" and the forthcoming book "What is Yoga in America?" a compilation of 50 yoga teachers' writings about yoga. Read more of Deborah's articles and subscribe (no charge) to the Florian Yoga Companion, http://florianyoga.blogspot.com

Hazards of Yoga and How to Prevent Them by Using Cotton Yoga Mats

Yoga is form of exercise that helps in understanding the true essence of life. It is a perfect combination for the growth and union of mind, body and soul. It makes one learn to develop an awareness of their physical and psychological states. It cures most ailments and gives us a control over ourselves. But with all the advantages, it may sometimes cause accidents if it is not performed in the correct way and in the correct surroundings.

It is often said that accidents are just waiting to happen. One small mistake and you sometimes end up paying a huge big price. Over confidence, and being casual about things causes a lot of problems later. People all around the world are getting into doing yoga these days. Though it has been practised for thousands of years but recently it has gained a lot of popularity. Yoga can be done by anyone. Children- adults, males- female, anyone can achieve its rewards. It is very important to do yoga exercises in the correct way otherwise it may harm you. People often start doing yoga anywhere they like but that is not correct as it often leads to accidents. It can ruin the otherwise beautiful experience of gaining wholesome health. Yoga should be done in the right surroundings and with proper guidance.

Yoga involves stretching and breathing exercises. A perfect companion for doing them is a yoga mat. If you do the exercises on the floor, you may slip and injure yourself. A yoga mat is the answer to your problem. There are many kinds of yoga mats available these days. But before buying be sure that it meets your basic requirements. First of all it should provide you with a non-skid surface so that you can perform all your exercises without any fear. The other things to keep in mind are that it should be portable, durable and easy to maintain. You should be able to wash it at home only to avoid unnecessary expenditure of laundries. A very important quality required by a good yoga mat is its ability to soak sweat. Often when you are doing exercises, you start to perspire and you may loose your grip due to that sweat. You can get hurt. If you have a good quality mat, which absorbs your perspiration at that time, then you can concentrate entirely on your exercises and not worry about injuries.

Cotton yoga mats are the ones that meet all these requirements. Their texture provides perfect non-skid surface. Along with the above-mentioned qualities, they are soft to touch and are comparatively inexpensive. They are readily available and you can find them in a wide range of colours to suit your style. They can be easily stored in any place after your yoga practise. They are available in different shapes and sizes to cater to different requirements. You can even find small size cotton mats for you little ones. They can use their own cotton mats to do their exercises and also to play later on.

One can learn the art of yoga from books, videos, and websites or from some instructor but for your safety it should be performed with proper care. Cotton yoga mat gives you all the protection you need to avoid accidents from loosing grip, slipping and provides extra padding for your knees and other body parts. So don't take chances with your health and body and invest in a good cotton yoga mat.

Christopher Schwebius is an entrepreneur who seeks out sharply defined, specifically focused topics to research. Upon finishing his research he provides relevant, un-biased information to his readers based on his discoveries and/or personal experiences. One of his latest ongoing projects can be viewed at http://www.cottonyogamat.org.

Yoga and Pain

In comparing 12-week sessions of yoga or conventional therapeutic exercise classes or a self-care book, Yoga was found to be more effective than a self-care book for improving function and reducing chronic low back pain, and the benefits persisted for at least 26 weeks. Sherman KJ. Cherkin DC. Erro J. Miglioretti DL. Deyo RA. Comparing yoga, exercise, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. Annals of Internal Medicine. 143(12):849-56, 2005 Dec 20.

Yoga training and a single bout of yoga appear to attenuate peak muscle soreness in women following a bout of eccentric exercise. These findings have significant implications for coaches, athletes, and the exercising public who may want to implement yoga training as a preseason regimen or supplemental activity to lessen the symptoms associated with muscle soreness. (Boyle CA. Sayers SP. Jensen BE. Headley SA. Manos TM. The effects of yoga training and a single bout of yoga on delayed onset muscle soreness in the lower extremity. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 18(4):723-9, 2004)

The information below is an excerpt from the article by Paul P: When yoga hurts. Practicing it is supposed to make you feel better, but doing it wrong is dangerous. Time. 170(16):71, 2007 Oct 15.

Yoga, regardless of the form, does not offer a comprehensive way to get fit. According to a study by the American Council on Exercise, a national nonprofit organization that certifies fitness instructors and promotes physical fitness, dedicated yoga practitioners show no improvement in cardiovascular health. It is not the best way to lose weight either. A typical 50-min. class of hatha yoga, one of the most popular styles of yoga in the U.S., burns off fewer calories than are in three Oreos-about the same as a slow, 50-min. walk. Even power yoga burns fewer calories than a comparable session of calisthenics.

And while yoga has been shown to alleviate stress and osteoarthritis, it does not develop the muscle-bearing strength needed to help with osteoporosis. Part of the problem is that increasingly, the people teaching yoga don't know enough about it. Yoga was traditionally taught one-on-one by a yogi over a period of years, but today instructors can lead a class after just a weekend course.

Though the Yoga Alliance, formed in 1999 and now based in Clinton, Md., has set a minimum standard of 200 hours of training for certification, only 16,168 of the estimated 70,000 instructors in the U.S. have been certified. "Yoga means bringing together mind, body and spirit, but in Western yoga, we've distilled it down to body," says Shana Meyerson, an instructor in Los Angeles. "That's not even yoga anymore. If the goal is to look like Madonna, you're better off running or spinning."

5 KEYS TO SAFE YOGA

1. Ask an instructor for credentials. And don't be afraid to leave if you're not satisfied.

2. Alert your instructor to your condition. Talk about past injuries and current weaknesses, and ask for any necessary modifications.

3. Beware of stationary instructors. They should be roaming around, monitoring participants and making adjustments for those who need them.

4. Avoid positions prone to cause injury. These include lotus, chaturanga or plank, headstands and downward-facing dog.

5. Stop if it hurts. Yoga should not cause pain.

http://www.stopmusclepain.com

Jennifer Chu, M.D. emeritus professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, pioneered eToims Twitch Relief Method that utilizes surface electrical stimulation to locate motor points (trigger points). The motor points are then stimulated to induce strong local muscle contractions, termed twitches. This results in reduced muscle pain and discomfort in the areas that were stimulated. The involved pain/discomfort-relieving mechanism is thought to include local muscle exercise and stretch effects.

eToims Soft Tissue Comfort Center specializes in diagnosis and treatment which ends muscle discomfort and pain.

Yoga For Simple Weight Loss and Energy

Want to lose weight and feel great? Yoga is the answer: not only does it give you energy, it's also a simple weight loss strategy so that you get healthy and look great.

When you use yoga for weight loss you never need to diet. You will find that your tastes change: your body will start demanding better fuel than you're currently giving it. Your desires for junk food and too much food will vanish.

Here's how to get started.

1. Find a Weight Loss Yoga Class

Your first step is to find a yoga for weight loss class -- these have now become available at many yoga studios. The benefit of a weight loss class is that everyone else in the class is focused on weight loss too.

You'll also find that your instructor modifies poses, so that they're easier for you to manage. You'll use blocks and other props so you can get the benefit of the pose, without straining.

2. Sun Salutations Move Your Body and Your Mind

Once you've learned several poses, it's time to combine your poses into a routine which you can follow at home. The Sun Salutations series is a routine which is easy to follow, and which you'll accomplish with ease.

As you lose weight and become more comfortable with yoga, you can simply do more rounds of Sun Salutations to enhance the effects.

3. Practice Yoga Meditation at Least Once a Day

Yoga meditation is essential. Most classes end with five or ten minutes of yoga meditation. Do the meditation at home too. The benefit of taking time for yoga meditation is that, just like yoga, the practice creates time. You'll find that the ten minutes a day you spend on meditation steadies you, and helps your focus, so that you're more productive both at work and at home.

4. Assess How a Food Feels After You've Eaten

As you become more used to yoga, you'll find that you're more in touch with your body. Some foods energize you, while others cause a slump. Start checking in with yourself an hour after you've eaten to assess how you feel.

You'll soon discover which foods make you feel great, and which don't.

5. Flow With the Changes Yoga Brings to Your Life

Yoga changes you. It unlocks the person you really are. Your life will change; flow with it.

Follow your impulses. Within a few short months of starting yoga, you'll find that not only have you lost weight, but many areas of your life have changed for the better, far beyond your current expectations.

Discover yourself with yoga, a gentle form of stretching. Yoga strengthens both your body and mind, and is suitable for anyone, from children to seniors. Visit Easy Fab Yoga Blog at http://www.easyfabyoga.com/blog/ for daily yoga information, tips, and inspiration.

Tibetan Rejuvenation Rites - Ancient Wisdom For Modern Fitness

"Tibetan rejuvenation rites" is a phrase you are going to be hearing more of over the course of the next few years. More correctly called The 5 Tibetan Energy Rejuvenation Rites, this ancient, 5 part yoga exercise routine is the subject of a popular book for western audiences, The 5 Tibetans, by Christopher S. Kilham. Part of the popularity of the Tibetans lies in the routine's brevity and limited spatial requirements. It can be done in fifteen minutes and requires no more horizontal space than it takes to lie down and no more vertical space than it takes to stand up with your arms outstretched.

This is not a routine for the unfit. This is deadly (in a good way, if you like the burn).

Here is a list of the 5 Tibetan Rejuvenation Rites. One does them in order. Each exercise is done 21 times. If you can't do the full 21 at the start, you do as many as you can and then move onto the next one. Note that the descriptions provided are bare descriptions. If you are going to try the routine, read up on it and the breathing that accompanies each movement first from an authoritative yoga source.

In Step 1, one twirls clockwise (that is, to the right) with arms extended sideways from the shoulder. 21 times: speed is not important and focusing on points in space is cheating.

Step 2 is 21 gut crunchers. You lie on your back, put your arms at your side, lock your knees and then raise your head and legs straight up and down.

In Step 3 you kneel; back straight, butt up, legs together, arms at you sides, and move your chin all the way down and all the way up, 21 times.

Step 4 is 21 reverse bridges.

Step 5, in yoga terms, is a Cobra to a Downward Dog. It's kind of like assuming a push-up position and then lifting yourself off the floor, alternating between head lift and a butt lift.

To find out more about the 5 Tibetan Rites just click here.

Buddhist Meditation

When one considers the practice of meditation, the first thing to come to mind is generally either Yoga or Pilates. While both concepts have proven quite effective for a variety of purposes, the often least considered option is just as effective as these two examples. That which we speak of is the art and practice of Buddhist Meditation.

Buddhism in itself can actually be traced back further than both Pilates and Yoga put together, all the way to the sixth century. It began with the birth of one man, Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. Granted, the religion in itself has taken on many aspects that are more modern since its origination.

Buddhism is based upon for aspects, called the "Four Noble Truths." These truths are referred to as the Nature of Dukkha, The origin of Dukkha, The cessation of Dukkha, and the Way Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha. You will notice the recurrence of the word, Dukkha. This word basically means "suffering," and can encompass anything that brings us pain on a physical, emotional, or spiritual level.

The actual meditation techniques in themselves are numorous, to say the least. As the techniques are man, so are the focuses of the techniques, though they can all be traced back to one overall theme, and that is to alleviate suffering in some form or another. Among this wide variety of buddhist meditation options are those of mindfulness, concentration, tranquility, and insight. To impress upon you the extent that the buddhist meditation techniques have become in today's society, currently there are over 90 different methods.

Do you have to subscribe to the Buddhist believes to effectively practice these meditations? Absolutely not. The actual buddhism religion itself and the meditation techniques are two completely different concepts.

As for actually performing buddhist meditation, one would have to choose the right technique for him or herself in particular. However, as an example, we will use the Satipatthana Sutta aspect of Buddhism. This inidividuals technique, early in the process, focuses on the body. The particular points on which the practictioner actually meditates upon are his/her breathing, posture, comprehending, self-repulsiveness of the body, material elements, and, oddly enough cemeteries. This is only a shadow of the full extent of this, or any, Buddhist meditation technique.

Will buddhist meditation help you in any way? The world of health professionals have found that any form of meditation can be physically helpful if approached properly. If for no other reason, meditation is a releiver of stress, which in turn lowers the possibility for so many stress related illnesses, such as high blood pressure and heart conditions. Is Buddhist meditation right for you? That is purely dependent upon your point of view. We strongly urge that you study into the subject, as well as that of Yoga and Pilates, before making a choice. From these three, you will surely find the perfect technique for you.

Yoga is a great way to strengthen your mind and body and get in shape as well as a great way to unwind after a long day. Whatever your yoga supplies needs, we have the information and resources to point you in the right direction. We have yoga music, mats, clothes, pants, videos and journals as well as information on the different types, postures and the history of yoga. Yoga supplies, such as a mat and yoga attire are a good investment for those practicing yoga. Mediation cushions comes in a wide variety of styles.

Yoga and Christianity a Conflict?

Being a practicing Christian myself, there are very few things in Yoga that conflict with Christianity. Some critics argue that Yoga and Christianity cannot co-exist, and yet we know that Yoga is not a religion.

However, that depends on your opinion. Recently, I was reading about someone who claims Kundalini is new age witchcraft.
Sorry to say, another person recently stated, Good Christians should avoid the devils exercise, in reference to Yoga.

Are the Salem witch trials still so close to our hearts? These claims are interesting because ministers and priests have been practicing meditation for centuries, without any complaints.

I suppose, if someone devoted enough time to meditating on bad thoughts, meditation would be a bad experience.

To be honest, it depends upon what you meditate about; and in truth, within some schools of Yoga, Hinduism, or Buddhism is taught. For me, this has always been a conflict, as I love Yoga, but have no desire to change my faith.

The many teachings of Yoga and meditation, are non-sectarian. Now, if Yoga were a religion, which would it be? The principles of Yoga are universal.

The Yamas and Niyamas are similar, in principle, to the Ten Commandments, but as a Christian you have the right to pick and choose what you want from Yoga. You also have the right to avoid sectarian ashrams.

Yoga practice, and meditation, give many Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Moslems, a closer connection to God, but there will always be someone who feels tempted to change their faith.

Lets be honest, the people who worry about a sudden change of faith are, for the most part, rooted in two distinct camps of thought.

1. Someone who is on the fence about their own religion and not quite sure where they really stand.

2. Severe intolerance of any idea that is new or might result in opening the mind.

Lets stop the intolerance now. When you are driving in your car, waiting in line, or come face-to-face with someone who is different from you, please set an example for your children and give the other person a break.

Paul Jerard, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center in, North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org

Benefits of Yoga For the Stressy CEO

Yoga is one method of attaining the mental silence necessary for sanity. In the demanding world of business, too often the CEO of a company finds himself pulled apart by the needs of his company and others around him. While the use of the term is he, it is meant to include both men and women, as women break through the glass ceiling of corporate America more frequently today than ever. The CEO is more than just the head of a company. They are spouses, parents, lovers and most of all people that can fall prey to anxiety and bad health if they don't take the precaution of clearing the garbage and stress from their mind.

Yoga provides one outlet that doesn't just clear the stress away but also adds clarity to thought. The breathing techniques and meditative process of Yoga gives a technique to calm the stressed executive rapidly and leave a clean mental slate so new concepts, ideas and creative problem solving can take place.

A simple exercise that is the key to Yoga practice is belly breathing. Belly breathing can take place anywhere, but best accomplished in privacy. If you find yourself in a tight tense situation, close the door to the office for five minutes and request all interruptions be ceased during that time. Begin by sitting straight in a chair with the arms relaxed on the lap and feet flat on the floor. Slouching is not an option, so use your best posture. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Inhale deeply to a slow count of ten. Allow your stomach to expand so you can fill your lungs more thoroughly. Hold the breath for a count of ten and then slowly exhale to the ten count and use the stomach muscles to push out the last of the air in your lungs. Again, hold it and then refill the lungs with air in the same manner as before. Do the breathing exercise for the next five minutes and focus on nothing but your breath. You'll begin to find the stress fall from your body and your head clear.

While this exercise is effective in emergency situations, those that you believe will force your head to explode, it is also more useful when practiced on a daily basis in conjunction with other Yoga exercises. It helps the mind and the body to cleanse itself of the damaging effects of stress.

Yoga has other benefits besides just the elimination of stress, as if that isn't enough. Yoga can bring extra clarity to the frequent user. Often those that use the calming yoga practices find that they have not just increased clarity but also improved intuition and more creativity. Scientific studies show that stress reduces these factors and the additional oxygen from deep breathing and increased blood flow opens areas of the brain that were closed or overwhelmed or overshadowed by the mental noise of daily living. Once the brain quiets the mind can listen to the messages these areas provide.

Conrad Raw is an expert in practical techniques for personal and spiritual development. He is the author of "Forbidden Secrets Of Personal And Energetic Development." He travels the world to learn and teach and is the founder of Greater Human Potential, a website devoted to bringing you easy to learn techniques to increase your human potential. Visit his website for a free newsletter filled with tons of great tips and advice on stress management

Yoga Improves Strength

A number of people wonder if yoga can improve their muscle fitness and strength levels. While they recognize that yoga can help reduce stress and increase flexibility and overall health , when it comes to increasing muscle fitness people think it might the most appropriate exercise to do the job. But, according to experts, yoga can definitely make you stronger.

If you would like to really put your daily fitness routine in overdrive and get better results than you ever have in the past, you really should consider adding yoga exercises into your home fitness workouts. Unlike traditional weight building exercises, in yoga your body provides the resistance. While you are not likely going to produce the bulked up muscles of some weight lifters, you will certainly increase your muscle strength. In addition, some balance postures require enormous muscle control in order to prevent you from falling over. This helps to build and strengthen your muscles. Aerobic exercise is great for burning calories, and strength training works very well for strengthening your muscle groups, but yoga goes far beyond either of those forms of exercise and can benefit you both physically and mentally.

In addition to all its other benefits, yoga can help you improve muscle fitness and make you actually feel and be stronger. Whether you choose to use it as your primary means of strength training or you want it to supplement your other exercises, yoga can help your muscles grow fit, balanced, and strong. In fact, many poses in yoga are done very slowly or you are required to stay in a specific posture during several breaths. In fact, those who have experienced it, support that it is much more challenging to your muscles to hold a pose or do it slowly than it is to allow momentum to move you through an action.

Furthermore, while in weight training, you isolate a specific muscle as you perform an exercise and this leads to a short, tightened muscles, the muscles you develop during exercising yoga are more likely to be elongated, because as you are strengthening them, you are simultaneously lengthening them. Particularly, practicing yoga can help realign your muscles, so they are more balanced. You truly work your entire body when you practice yoga as you do not focus on an isolated muscle, but actively recruit the smaller muscle groups as well. Finally, since you are not overworking any specific muscle group, you are less likely to get injured.

Concluding, this type of exercising has a number of mental benefits, as the yoga positions and breathing exercises helped people focus inward rather than on the outward distractions of their lives. According to related literatures, Yoga is a science that has been in place for thousands of years in the Indian culture. It consists of ancient theories, observations and principles about the mind and body connection. Its aim is to unite the mind, body and spirit and if it is given the right tools and right environment, the body can find harmony and heal itself. Many support that this introspection helps them clear their mind and focus their attention on the more important things in their lives. In addition, regular yoga exercise routine can greatly reduced a person's stress levels. Since many yoga poses and breathing techniques encourage extreme relaxation of body and mind those experiencing the mental benefits of yoga can get rid of their daily stress and its damaging influences.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Women's Health, Women, and Nursing.

Asans in Yoga For Asthma

The sciences of yoga propose that there are numerous methods to prevent asthma. They believe that the free flow of air that reaches the organs during the various 'asans' helps control asthma attacks. Hence, if you are suffering from a tedious breathing problem, then make sure that you try the 'asans' in yoga for asthma.

Here are a few of the most popular 'asans' for asthma patients:

BADDHAKONASANA:

Yoga for asthma patients can be very beneficial. To do this 'asan' follow the following steps:

Sit on a firm pillow on the floor, bend your knees, and join both the soles of your feet together.

Try pulling your heels closer to the pillow.

Now push your knees away from one another and try to lower them slowly on the floor.

Then open up your chest and draw the abdomen in.

Hold the pose for three minutes.

VIRASANA:

Put two pillows parallel to one another on the floor.

Keeping your knees joint, kneel down on the pillows.

Put a rolled towel under your butt and a towel on your shins

Stretch your chest as much as possible and sit upright, so that you feel as though you are clutching your kidneys.

Put your palms on your lap, closer to your knees.

Maintain this position for a minute.

UPAVISTA KONASANA:

This is another great 'asan' in yoga for asthma patients. To do this 'asan':

Sit with your back against the wall, such that your shoulders and back are touching the wall completely.

Put your palms on the floor and sit on the bones of your buttock.

Your hips, vision and fingers should be pointing straight ahead

Push your torso forward with the help of your palms

While exhaling stretch your legs horizontally as much as possible

Place your hands behind your back and palms on the floor.

Try to lift your waist. Moreover, revolve your thighs to the front so that the knee caps face the ceiling

Move your weight from your thigh to your bone

Elongate both legs

Keep the position for 40 seconds

DANDASANA:

DANDASANA is a very effective 'asan' in yoga for asthma victims. To try this 'asan':

Sit on the floor in an erect posture.

Bend your knees

Sit on your buttock bones

Now erect both the legs but not simultaneously. Make sure by the time your bring them together they are completely joined from the inner side.

Now stretch your knees and toes

After this, press your palms on floor stretch your arms and elbows

Now lift your abdominal area up

Hold the position for a minute.

Remember, before you try any of these positions in yoga for asthma, then make sure you consult a doctor. Asthma is a life-threatening problem and should not be taken lightly. To know more about this subject, visit asthma.

Yoga - Power of Mind Or Body Fitness?

Practicing yoga is a great way to enhance your flexibility - if you do lots of stretching; to find your balance - by controlling your breath; to keep straight posture - when you engage your core and to tone your muscles - by overall dynamic yet controlled movements.

You can choose from yoga classes designed for stress- release to more strenuous physical workouts intended to supplement weight loss.

While yoga originated in India and was a big part of a spiritual life, western society has adopted many of its basic principles as a low impact physical fitness workout. Is yoga becoming only a fitness regime to tone your muscles or is there something left for the mind?

Below you will find a description of some of the well known yoga styles and it is up to you which one you will be tempted to choose from.

1) So ... if you are interested to take up yoga as Body Fitness routine there is plenty for you on the market:

Power Yoga
Ashtanga Yoga
Dynamic Yoga
Bikram Yoga (Hot Yoga)

Those classes are aiming toward toning muscle groups and enhancing control offering a more intense workout than most other types of Yoga.

They generally comprised of one and a half hour workout that cycles through several series of postures. The intense aerobic nature of the workout could be difficult for beginners, but it provides the most opportunity for muscle toning and body sculpting.

2) A relatively new form of exercise-based yoga designed to work on toning and slimming your abdominals, thighs and bottom is: Core Yoga

Many students of this type of yoga use it as extras to their regular workout to target problem areas where the extra weight is easily collected. This form of yoga helps to alleviate back pain, and many exercises originate from the spine. If you actively participate in those yoga classes you can expect to lose inches around your waist, bottom and hips.

3) The closest form of yoga to achieve the Power of Mind is: Hatha Yoga

It has everything; the breathing, relaxation, postures and most importantly it is not a class design to work on your ego-muscles issue but to work within, focusing more on the inside rather than on the outside.

If you are new to yoga this is a class for you. These hatha yoga classes will provide a balanced workout between body and mind. You will feel relaxed, refreshed and at the same time rejuvenated.

For more information about the author check http://www.yoga-london.org.uk

Ms Barbara is a Certified Yoga trainer and also a Teacher in Physical Education. She is a member of REPs as Advance Instructor level 3.

She have been learning, practicing and teaching many styles of yoga for around 10 years. Her classes vary in dynamics and strength, depending on the level of students. Some classes may be very gentle and meditative, while other very powerful and strong.

For more information about the author check http://www.yoga-london.org.uk

Yoga - Improve Your Breathing

Yoga is an ancient discipline that encompasses the entire body and mind and the breath is the link between the two. So, to perform correctly the yogic exercises one needs to learn the art of breathing which will lead to complete physical and mental relaxation and balance.

Yoga has been practiced for many centuries to improve the overall health and well-being of a person. With the stress we put our bodies through on a daily basis it is good to know that there is a way out.

To get the most benefits from a yoga practice we need to learn how to breathe correctly using our entire lung capacity and not only a small fraction of our lungs. When you breathe with awareness you become more aware of your physical body and of your state of mind. You will get lots of benefits like:

1) By breathing slowly and deeply you allow more oxygen to get into your body, especially to the brain.
2) It will release tension and stress.
3) The correct breathing will help to reduce wastes and toxins.
4) It will improve digestion.
5) It will improve your concentration.
6) It will help you think in a more positive way.

Apart from a deep abdominal breathing, which is quite easy to learn and relaxing, there are many other types of breathing. Some can be done on your own after learning from a qualified yoga teacher, but some should be always done in a presence of a yoga teacher.

The deep abdominal breathing is best done lying on your back on the yoga mat in a well ventilated room. Keeping your eyes closed observe the natural breath rising and falling for a moment. Then begin to lengthen the inhalation and deepen the exhalation. Start noticing the rhythmic rise and fall of your abdomen and the feeling of complete relaxation.

Alternate nostril breathing without retention can be easily mastered but adding the breath retention should be done under the proper guidance from a yoga teacher. It has some health contraindications so please check it before attempting it.

Kapalabhati is a more vigorous form of breathing helping to energize your body. It is good to learn it from a qualified yoga teacher before trying to perform it on your own.

In some circumstances breathing exercises should not be done:
1) If you are having any breathing problems.
2) Directly after eating food.
3) If you are depressed.

Remember: Breathing exercises can be detrimental to your health if done incorrectly!

Ms Barbara is a Certified Yoga trainer and also a Teacher in Physical Education. She is a member of REPs as Advance Instructor level 3.

She have been learning, practicing and teaching many styles of yoga for around 10 years. Her classes vary in dynamics and strength, depending on the level of students. Some classes may be very gentle and meditative, while other very powerful and strong.

For more information about the author check http://www.yoga-london.org.uk

Yoga - Do These Four Moves to Bust Your Stress Fast

I know you're a busy person with no time for a full workout. However, when stress hits, it's when you need it most.

Let me give you a 4 yoga mini-routine moves to help you unwind and recharge - all without having to go into gym attire.

Side Plank. This targets and firms the arms, chest, back, waist, abs and legs. On your belly with forearms on the floor under shoulders, exhale as you rotate to the right, turn left arm forward, stack legs, and extend your right arm. Hold for 5 breaths, then rotate back to the plank. Repeat on your left side.

Corpse Pose. This targets the entire body. Here's what you do. Lie face up, legs extended, arms at the sides, palms up. Breathe deeply as you focus on and relax on one body part at a time from your legs to your head. Thoughts will come and go, acknowledge them and let them drift away. Relax in this pose for at least 3 to 5 minutes.

Cobbler's Pose. This targets the abs, lower back, legs. Go and sit with the soles of your feet together, hands on the floor behind hips. Inhale and lift your chest without the back arching. Take 10 breathes, then relax, hugging your knees to your chest. Do this 4 times.

Child's Pose. This targets the back,shins and the top of the feet. So begin by going on all fours then sit back on you heels. Lower your forehead to the floor, bringing your hands next to your feet, palms facing the ceiling. Rest for about 10 breaths.

Make sure you inhale deeply as you breathe throughout and during all the moves. Enjoy this mid-day stress busting yoga break.

Glendale Personal Trainer, Author, Life Coach, Speaker and Consultant

Adriel Yapana is author of the special report "7 Steps To Skinny Jeans." To learn more about this special report and sign up for more successful fitness strategies like these, visit his website at http://fatloss180.com

The Benefits of Power Yoga

Today's power yoga basically branched out from the Ashtanga Yoga of the Hindu tradition and religion of India.

Power yoga is emphasizing the development of ones flexibility and the nurture of the desire for a vigorous whole body workout. The activity most of all facilitates for concentration and mental stability.

There are various reasons why power yoga classes abound everywhere. Nowadays, different and major gyms all over the world are offering power yoga classes.

No wonder. That is because those who have already immersed in the activity openly acknowledge the benefits and health effects to them.

Power yoga classes have become popular for various reasons. Not just vogue, more and more people are getting into the activity because of the proven benefits the exercise can do to them.

Bodily gains from the Power Yoga

First of all, the power yoga promoted overall well-being of the body. Because power yoga also involves physical activities that are sometimes stretching and working out muscles, power yoga is sometimes made as alternatives to ordinary and daily workout routines.

There are several significant benefits of doing the power yoga to ones body. Among these benefits are the following:

- Power yoga bolsters flexibility, stamina and strength.

- Power yoga promotes improvement of one persons ability and capability to focus and concentrate.

- Power yoga helps people release the distracting anxiety and overall tension.

- Power yoga helps one person develop and maintain good and proper posture.

- Power yoga tones the body in a way that is neither hard nor stressful.

- Bodily toxins are removed from the physical or body system through the sweat the body excretes during power yoga session.

- Power yoga also serves as a great warm up or training activity for all sorts and types of athletes.

- Power yoga, when done regularly would help improve an athletes overall performance especially in demanding sports like golf, football, cycling an of course, swimming.

Health clubs

Various and numerous health clubs all over the world are now offering different power yoga classes because the popularity of the exercise is truly rising.

Power yoga practitioners frequent health clubs that offer power yoga training and classes because they know and attest that power yoga help them attain physical improvement, mental power as well as spiritual enlightening.

Touching on the mental and spiritual facets of ones overall personality is one attribute of the power yoga that is significantly missing and left out in all other forms and kinds of exercises.

Health clubs nowadays appreciate this fact. That is why most of them are trying and aiming to offer their members with such classes and offerings.

The spiritual and mental facet

The spiritual and mental facet of one individual is hard to tap, develop or nourish. That is why when power yoga started becoming popular, it became the venue and task on how people touch on their spiritual and mental aspects.

Overall relaxation and well-being is improved by becoming attached and involved in power yoga activities and exercises.

It is important to know about power yoga if you want to start doing the activity regularly. You will be surely surprised how much more benefits can be offered and provided by the activity or exercise.

Do the power yoga now and experience its benefits yourself.

Jeanette Pollock is a contributing author to JustYogaBasics.com. Visit Jeanette's website to get started with yoga!

Back Pain Yoga Guide Part 1

Many people suffer with back pain and most all of those people learn over time what works best to help with their particular pain. Some of the back pains can be cured where others have to be managed, but there is no doubt that lower back pain can take a toll on a person. There are many things that one can do to ease chronic back pain. One of the most common methods that people use would be bed rest combined with anti-inflammatory medications and possibly some pain medication. There are other options available that may work much better.

Sometimes a better option with back pain is to get the body and back mobile therefore creating blood flow to the effected areas. Which in turn will help clear toxins and blockages from that area. With exercise these areas then receive 'oxygenated blood' to the injured area and help recovery and healing quicker. Possibly the hardest part is when one is injured is to motivate yourself to do 'something' to keep the body mobile.

A major study on the use of alternative therapies found that almost 60% of people who consulted a medical doctor for back pain had tried some sort of alternative therapy. There is mounting evidence that yoga can relieve chronic back pain. The yoga poses, combined with breathing techniques, help relax muscles and calm the mind.

It also helps to reduce low back pain & sciatica - As you become acutely aware of proper body alignment, you can carry yourself and your belly in an integrated manner. This can help to reduce the degree of pelvic tilt associated with pregnancy and significantly reduce the lower back pain which it can cause. Additionally, there are specific yoga poses which stretch the muscles and tissues associated with the lower back, hips, and hamstrings. Your instructor should make these poses a part of each class.

Yoga is a wonderful physical discipline and may be beneficial to increase strength, balance, and range of motion. Yoga can exacerbate certain back conditions, however, and therefore physician clearance is recommended for patients with back pain prior to beginning yoga. Patients with acute pain will usually be unable to tolerate the normal yoga practice, however, if one is gentle and listens to the body progress can be made. It is a fine line where you draw.

Glen Wood - The Yoga Teacher, dedicated to unlocking the Real Secrets of Back, Neck and Shoulder Pain.

To help you further with your back, neck and shoulder pain you need to sign up for your FREE "Yoga and You" report at http://www.YogaTeachingwithGlen.com

Yoga Pants - A Practical Guide

I understand that yoga pants may not be the first thing that you think of when it comes to your yoga practice. But the fact of the matter is that most people like to look good for every activity that they involve themselves in and yoga is no different.

Of course, there are many things to be taken into consideration when you decide to buy a nice pair of yoga pants. I'm going to mention a few here so that when you go to buy, you will be well informed.

The first, and probably the most obvious factor, is fit. I am assuming that you will be trying your pants on before buying. That said, many people buy online so trying them on isn't possible. You'll want to get as prefect a fit as you possibly can. You will be doing a lot of movements in them so it is vitally important that they fit well. This is where you might want to look into a stretchy material, although some people prefer natural fibers.

Next, make certain that the clothes are not too revealing. You are going to your class for a purpose other than to be alluring (I presume). My feeling is that you should be looking for a combination of clinging and yet loose and flowing, if you can get it.

Since I sweat fairly profusely in class I tend to gravitate towards darker colors so as to hide the sweat stains. For me, gray tends to show sweat more easily than other colors. Even white seems to do a better hiding job than does gray.

Clearly comfort is of prime importance-you won't practice if you are not comfortable. In that yoga is supposed to be a system that emphasizes relaxation, comfort should be high on your list. Here is where many students look for natural fabrics like cotton, hemp, linen, or even silk and satin (although I find these fabrics to be too slick).

Whatever style of yoga pants you decide to purchase, you can get more insight by seeing my site at http://yogapantsonline.com

Yoga 5 Vital Steps to Have a Smooth Pregnancy

A smooth pregnancy is all woman dreams of. They don't want to experience hard labor when in childbirth, morning sickness and other things. With the help of Yoga Practice, they could have a smooth pregnancy. There are Yoga 5 Vital Steps for Pregnancy - if you practice it daily, it will greatly help you during and after pregnancy.

1. Yoga Exercises - When we are pregnant, we still need to exercise our body. Yoga is the best exercise for women that are pregnant. By doing Yoga Asanas, it will effect your pelvis and other reproductive organs to ensure you to have a smooth pregnancy. It can also help in childbirth, so you wont be having a hard labor.

2. Breathing / Pranayama - Yoga breathing techniques are essential in your yoga practice. This breathing will make sure that your body and your child will be receiving the oxygen supply needed.

3. Meditation - Meditation is one of the step for doing Yoga. So it is important to do this when you are pregnant. This will help you to ease your mind, and also help you to relief from fears, conflicts and neuroses. Because those are commonly happening during pregnancy. And although this seems impossible to be said, a lot of people says that, it also increase your incredible awareness, it says it could help you to connect yourself to your child.

4. Mudras and Bandhas - This is the practice of doing a hand gestures. There are a lot types of mudras in Yoga. It has a lot of effect on the reproductive organs.

5. Deep Relaxation - This deep relaxation is also called Yoga Nidra / Yogic Sleep. This relaxation will help you a lot to make your physical and mental to be relaxed. It also help you with the preparation for the childbirth.

Above are the steps that you need to have a smooth pregnancy. You must do those steps routinely to receive the benefits of Yoga.

Now, You see that Yoga is helpful to pregnant woman. Pregnancy Yoga is advised to pregnant woman. It is good to do Yoga for pregnancy, as long as you have the right guidance.

Laughter Yoga - America's Newest Exercise Craze

History of Laughter Yoga

In March 1995 Dr. Madan Kataria, a family physician from Mumbai, India, decided to write an article called "Laughter - the best medicine" for his monthly health magazine "My Family Doctor". His desk research led him to discover an overwhelming body of scientific literature that described in great length the proven benefits of laughter on the human mind and body. In particular he was very impressed by American journalist Norman Cousins' book "Anatomy of an Illness" and the research work undertaken by Dr. Berk from Loma Linda University. Profoundly inspired and being a man of action rather than an academic, he immediately decided to field-test the impact of laughter on himself.

At 7 am the next morning he went to his local public park and somehow managed to motivate four people to start a Laughter Club with him. This small group quickly grew to over 50 participants within a few days.

In the beginning, everybody stood in a circle while one person would come to the center and crack a joke or tell a humorous anecdote. Everybody enjoyed the fun and felt nice for the rest of the day. After about 2 weeks however the stock of good jokes ran out and the "bad", hurtful, sexist jokes came up. Two women were offended and complained. It became clear that an alternative to jokes had to be found if this "Laughter Club" was to survive.

Dr. Kataria re-read all of the scientific research he had on laughter and found the answer he was looking for: the human mind doesn't know how to make a distinction between fake and genuine laughter. Either way it produces happy chemistry. The concept of laughing for no reason was born. His wife Madhuri Kataria brought in her experience as a Yoga Teacher and suggested gentle breathing and other yoga exercises be included in the routine to deepen its impact. The resulting Laughter Yoga technique is a blend of yogic deep breathing, stretching, simulated laughter exercises and cultivated child-like playfulness.

The unique concept of Laughter Yoga and Laughter Club is the brain child of Dr. Madan Kataria, a physician from Mumbai, India. Any one can laugh in a group for 15-20 minutes without depending upon great sense of humor, jokes or comedy. Laughter Yoga combines simple laughter exercises (simulated laughter) and gentle yoga breathing, which turns into real laughter when practiced in a group.

Laughter Yoga is supported by powerful tools derived from the Western psycho analytical methods as well as Eastern spiritual laws. It will help you to stay in high spirits when life throws up challenges. It will enhance your ability to laugh and smile when dealing with negative emotions, situations and negative or difficult people.

These powerful tools include: how does the human mind work? What is the meaning and purpose of life? Understanding laws of the universe which govern our life? Understanding negative emotions like anger, fear, anxiety, greed, guilt, sadness, lust and attachments. And cultivating positive attitudes like appreciation, forgiveness, service and devotion.

To promote laughter club around the world we are organizing Laughter workshops, laughter seminars, laughter yoga leader training, laughter yoga teacher's training, and laughter yoga spiritual retreat and laughter yoga holidays.

At present there are more than 5000 laughter clubs in over 53 countries world wide and Laughter Clubs have been covered by prestigious television channels like BBC, CNN. ABC (USA), NHK (Japan), Channel 7 & 9 (Australia), ZDF Germany and newspapers, magazines like TIME Magazine, National Geographic, New York Times, London Times, and LA Times, the Guardian, Wall Street Journals and many others.

In A Nutshell Simple, Gentle
Laughter Yoga is physically-oriented technique that uses a perfect blend of playful, empowering and otherwise "tension-releasing" simple laughter exercises, interspersed with gentle breathing and stretching exercises, rhythmic clapping and chanting of Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha in unison. This is done as a way to improve health, increase well-being, and promote peace in the world through personal transformation. In Laughter Yoga you use laughter as a tool, not an emotion.

These exercises last about 20 to 30 minutes and are adapted to suit the needs, abilities and motivations of the group participating.

A Breakthrough
Dr Madan Kataria was the first one to discover and make use of the fact that anyone can laugh for 15-20 minutes without depending upon a sense of humor or comedy. No joke: as of July 2005 there were over 5000 Laughter Clubs worldwide, counting 250,000+ members.

Powerful
Because it does not rely on the mind at all, Laughter Yoga helps you to easily distance yourself from your fears, sadness, worries, self-defined limitations, etc. As a result you do not need to be happy, have a sense of humor, or even have a reason in order to laugh. Laughter Yoga bases itself on the philosophy of acting happiness. We simulate to stimulate. In time fake laughter becomes genuine and flows out like a fountain. Universal Laughter Yoga crosses all barriers: age, gender, language, culture, physical abilities, race, religion, political beliefs, etc. Laughter is part of the universal human vocabulary. All members of the human species understand it.

Therapeutic
The therapeutic value of Laughter has been thoroughly and scientifically researched in the past 40 years, and its physical benefits proven beyond the shadow of a doubt.

The first scientific research on Laughter Yoga was done in 2003-2004 in Graz University, Austria, by Psychologist Dr Ilona Papousek. We are currently awaiting their official publication in English.

Dr. Lee Berk (World expert in the field of Psycho-Neuro-Immunology) and his research team at Loma Linda University, School Of Public Health, in California have recently started a major and multi-study research project specifically on Laughter Yoga. The aim of this scientific research is to qualify and quantify the impact of laughing for no reason on the human body as well as stress levels. Interim results are expected in the course of 2006.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you my thoughts on motivational speaking and Laughter Yoga.

Cordially Yours,

Doug Dvorak
http://www.dougdvorak.com
847.359.6969

Doug Dvorak is the CEO of Dvorak Marketing Group, Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training and customer service and sales excellence management workshops. Doug has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques. His background in sales, leadership, management, and customer loyalty has allowed him to become one of worlds most sought-after consultants, lecturers and teachers. This vast experience has helped him shape and determine his philosophies on success in business, which he now shares annually with thousands of individuals through keynote presentations, syndicated writing, television, seminars, books, and tapes. If you would like Doug to address your organization with a dynamic and educational presentation, or if you would like to host a workshop, please contact Doug at 847-359-6969 or http://www.dougdvorak.com

Workout Apparel

It never fails to amaze a person whenever he finds himself in a specialty store, particularly sports apparel, and a long array of clothing and accessories is laid out in the open ready for the able buyer. There are several sporting apparels for specific sports such, as fitness exercise, equestrian, yoga, and golf. All of these are readily available in the market. For other sports apparel, such as mountaineering, surfing, and rafting, they can be found abundantly all over as well. Several sport apparels include rafting vests, caps, and batting gloves. To get a more vivid picture and idea, here are a few items we have listed down for you.

Golf apparels are found in practically any sport specialty store. This type of apparel typically includes a t-shirt with trousers. Here, the most vital factor that golfers are mostly after is comfort. One very popular golf wear is the chino. There are also various caps and hats with different kinds of designs that are available. For a number of golfers who prefer a more outlandish gear, the same can also be easily found.

Another type of sports apparel is that used for running. Clothes for this type of activity are commonly made with cotton since this material retains moisture, thus avoiding the occurrence of friction and reduces the probability of premature chafing. Included in the running getup are your tights, running shorts, and, of course, your cotton socks. The nice thing about choosing your gears and outfit for running is that you can also use them in gymnastics and aerobics. The most important thing to remember is to only choose the correct size and proper material.

One kind of apparel that must be carefully chosen to suit the weather and certain climates is the athletic apparel. If this type of apparel is not carefully selected to suit climate and weather changes, it actually causes a rather significant blow on the athlete's performance.

Equestrian gear is all about boots and breeches. Casual equestrian apparel would be matching riding breeches and a plain t-shirt. Most equestrians should ideally choose an outfit that they would feel their most comfortable in when riding.

Last is the yoga getup. Yoga is all about flexibility and movement, so you should try to find something that is loose enough to allow smooth, easy, and comfortable movement. There are also a lot of designer yoga outfits available in several specialty yoga stores. The most common thing people into yoga wear are unitards and Capri pants.

For more great information on exercise and nutrition, check out this Bodybuilding Blog.

Also while you're at it, come visit and join one of the best Bodybuilding Forums around!

In the Shade of the Yoga Tree - A Living Context for Practice

"The living context for practicing various yoga branches is not to flee one's existence, but to realize the profound experience of one's path." Author "Namaste'."

Without false modesty, pride, or preconception we greet kindred spirits along the path, meeting them eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe because we are all concurrently students and teachers. While individuals experience life through different personalities, we share weighty truths allowing us to recognize one another. I know you as I know myself; all of us wish to give and receive respect; all of us hope to lead lives of security, not only in the material sense, but stepping forth into this universe secure in who we are and the works we accomplish; all sojourners desire love. My first teacher - poet, yogi, and mystic - Eden Ahbez, gifted the world with his song, Nature Boy. Many listen to the song failing comprehension that his lyric, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return, " is the call of a mystic who refers to 'love' in its broadest sense - the ability we have to recognize and value our connection with others and our universe. Realizing these truths, we bond across great divides of land and sea transcending culture and language. "Namaste'," meaning to say, "Your energy and my energy, honored as one energy."

Our multifarious existence proceeds from a single subtle energy force, and the yoga tree, planted and nurtured by this energy, manifests itself through varied branches. Over five thousand years ago in northern India, the universe gave birth to the yoga tree blossoming into Buddhist branches, Hatha, Kriya, and Pranayama branches, Bhakti, Gnani, Kundalini, and Tantric branches, and fresh branches of Power Yoga developing in the West as we speak. Each branch evolves as an offshoot of the tree, and every branch exhibits its own style or energy frequency. Which branch do you practice? Whichever style you find yourself committed to, you are practicing 'subtle energy manipulation'.

Like my adventurous friends and teachers before me, Eden Ahbez and Arleta Soares, I am an energy maverick - a shaman learning and practicing styles from all over the great tree. Studying for thirty-five years accustoms one to leaps of faith in the nature of a single underlying spiritual energy or as Buddhists say, "one's true face."

The foundation of all yoga is energy. Understanding The Law of Subtle Energy Return is imperative and of great aid in the quality of our practice. Subtle energy return is that tie which binds us to an infinite universe unborn as the one undifferentiated energy and born as the manifested variety of energy frequencies composing our world.

Refining individual energy frequencies and accomplishing a living return to the undifferentiated source is the purpose of yoga practice. Applying The Law of Subtle Energy Return, we seek to balance and evidence our individual energy frequency to reflect that energy of which we are manifest - the one original energy: our higher self or infinite mind, that which whispers to us when we are alone, ineffable spirit. The Law of Subtle Energy Return states that the energy frequency we manifest in our lives is the frequency of energy the universe returns to us. Through yoga we arrive at the notion that standing alone in front of our cave in the Himalayas and shouting any strange sound, that sound is precisely what will be echoed back; we learn energy manipulation, as those hermits in their lonely spiritual mounts learned and practiced for thousands of years. The Law of Subtle Energy Return refines The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection, and with practice this connection grows clear, direct, and powerful. The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection allows us to form a completed cycle of communication between the finite and infinite.

"Yoga is an art, a science and a philosophy. It touches the life of man at every level, physical, mental, and spiritual. It is a practical method for making one's life purposeful, useful and noble. ... ...Yoga helps to keep one's body and mind in tune with the essence, the soul, so that all three are blended into one. ..." B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

If you're sensing karmic law peeking around the tree, you are correct. However, I find the term karma largely misunderstood and incorrectly practiced. I believe this is in part due to 'karma', the word's, superficial western definition of "As you sow, so shall you reap." The Law of Subtle Energy Return, as a title, gives us a brief description and an immediate sense of arena. The title does not originate with me, but arrives via ancient Taoist doctrine.

Learning The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection, we appreciate that yoga, as a wholistic lifestyle, affords us space to practice through our material bodies and mundane individual minds a linking with infinite mind, the spirit.

Grasping a single branch, Hatha Yoga is not merely a series of asanas - yoga postures - for the body. Each asana issues a direct command utilizing the body in a two-fold manner: first, by purposely performing, using full consciousness, a new movement the body is unaccustomed to, we establish a break from our personal history of heretofore limited movement. Sustaining a back-bend with chest thrown upwards and outwards, our limbs stretched and head upside-down, at that moment we are - as a side benefit to our conscious activity - feeding our unconscious mind a groundbreaking picture of its world. For this reason, it is critical that we practice Hatha yoga with our eyes open. Yoga is freeing one's self of history.

Secondly, along with this amazing upside-down picture, the unconscious mind receives the command information that we are capable of this expanded experience. The difference between the unconscious and the conscious mind is that the unconscious is not capable of making a judgment call; it accepts what it is given at face value. This acceptance is the first step in the process of refining energy through The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection because the unconscious reports to the conscious mind this new truth, which in turn reports this truth to the body, and the body seeks to balance the energy picture by establishing different parameters fitting its new knowledge. Taking this knowledge of the two laws - energy return, and mind, body, spirit connection - outside of the yoga studio and into our lives expands our abilities to meet goals and impact our world. Yoga is finding one's power to be at home in the universe.

"Yoga takes the doing out of our spiritual quest ... BEING present thru a daily practice of yoga brings us balance of body, mind and spirit. Yoga is 'everymans' path of transformation to wholeness." Reverend Arleta M. Soares, U.R.M.

Mind and body evolving together refine energy - they manifest that energy frequency born of the one original universal energy, the infinite mind. The universe returns infinite mind energy and spiritual communication succeeds. Practicing yoga asanas is an expansion of consciousness meditation. Indeed, all yogic movements, controlled breathing, visualization, and mantra follow The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection accomplished through The Law of Subtle Energy Return.

If "Namaste'" is yoga's spoken greeting, "Sah aham," is yoga's interior attitude. This piece of hoary Sanskrit means, "Eternal spirit I am."

Through a balanced yoga practice of physical and mental meditation, and seeking to maintain an intelligent, responsible, and compassionate bearing that deep truths connect us all, we arrive at an understanding that the mind does not reside in the brain, but rather throughout and beyond the body extending itself further than the manifested universe to the infinite. Existence, as an event of The Mind, Body, Spirit Connection, and The Law of Subtle Energy Return, even while alive in the body, is a constant cycle of return to the source; while our bodies are not immortal, our true natures are eternal. Sikh master, Yogi Bhajan, and lecturing author, Dr. Wayne Dyer, have both expressed the timeless truth that we are not human beings seeking a spiritual experience, but actually spiritual beings having a human experience.

In this excerpt of The Sunflower Sutra, a poem by Allen Ginsberg, the poet sits by a dirty, rat infested riverbank, one imagines poor, hollow-eyed, and downtrodden by the almost impossible task of a commitment to spiritual, poetic survival under the weight of an overbearing steel and concrete metropolis. Allen forcefully delivers his sermon on this condition of remembering the spiritual in the midst of the human experience to the ghost of his deceased best friend, Jack Kerouac:

"...Poor dead flower? when did you forget you were a flower? when did you look at your skin and decide you were an impotent dirty old locomotive? the ghost of a locomotive? the specter and shade of a once powerful mad American locomotive? You were never no locomotive, sunflower, you were a sunflower and you Locomotive, you are a locomotive, forget me not!

So I grabbed up the skeleton thick sunflower and stuck it at my side like a scepter, and deliver my sermon to my soul, and Jack's soul too, and anyone who'll listen,

-We're not our skin of grime, we're not our dread bleak dusty imageless locomotive, we're all golden sunflowers inside, blessed by our own seed & hairy naked accomplishment-bodies growing into mad black formal sunflowers in the sunset, spied on by our eyes under the shadow of the mad locomotive riverbank sunset Frisco hilly tincan evening sitdown vision." Allen Ginsberg, Howl and Other Poems

We are all microcosms of the macrocosmic infinite energy. We contain all of the elements, qualities, and possibilities of the infinite. However, we are wrapped up simultaneously in the throes of an often earth shattering human experience. We forget our true eternal nature. Living a complete yoga life does not mean escape from our condition. One does not practice a yogic lifestyle with attachments such as creating good karma. Through yoga, the infinite bud within each of us is encouraged to flower, and by this blooming process, we naturally return to the source. Yoga practice, in the context of our mortal journey, is the art and science of standing steady yet unattached with one foot in the finite world and the other foot in the infinite world of spiritual energy; realizing the infinite through the finite, the absolute through the relative, the spiritual through the mundane is our condition. That nirvana - final liberation - is found in the midst of samsara - the cycle of existence - is a given across the panorama of Eastern thought.

"The meaning of our self is not to be found in its separateness from God and others, but in the ceaseless realization of yoga, of union." Rabindranath Tagore

The living context for practicing various yoga branches is not to flee one's existence, but to realize the profound experience of one's path. Practicing in this fashion is the art of grounding one's self, sometimes referred to as centering, and pragmatically speaking, taking the time to learn this bit of sobering philosophy is balancing and invaluable in all areas of our journey.

Finally, yoga imparts natural balance in our lives through The Universal Law of Homeostasis; both the infinite and manifest aspects of creation proceed because homeostasis demands energy seek refinement through establishing a direction towards balance flowing within limitations. Hatha Yoga expresses this balance by repeating asanas equally on both sides of the body, while Pranayama Yoga seeks to increase the collection and flow of prana (refined energy) by equalized breathing exercises through both nostrils simultaneously or consecutively, and sitting meditation devotes a portion of practice to balancing or clearing the chakras (energy centers or blockages depending on your school of thought) and equalizing energy meridians flowing within the body or issuing from the body. All of these yogic modalities are practiced as an east-west force crossing the planet's natural north-south energy lines. Completing a yoga session where we have created statements of balance to the unconscious mind, The Mind, Body, Spirit connection responds and we feel relaxed and balanced. As our practice matures, we carry this natural balance into our daily lives.

"...Who fasts and sleeps under the stars Who wears ashes sitting in eternal meditation So long as this one doubts, he will not find freedom. ..." Buddha

Yoga is a leap of faith in the one energy - from what we know of the finite to what we do not know and cannot say about infinity. Namaste'.

Thank you for your comments!

Youngbear Roth's in-depth resume' may be viewed with a mouse click here. 818-985-3976 or suc-srv@pacbell.net

Fitness Yoga Tips For Moms With Newborns

When the glow of childbirth wears off, what you will start wondering is just how much damage has been done. Not as much as you think, but getting yourself back to where you were will take some time, and you will have to take it slow and easy. Fitness yoga is a great way to get back into the swing of things, and can adjusted for each individual to be as simple or as difficult as you want it to be. As a bonus, once you get some muscle tone back you can take on more challenging positions that will really get you into shape.

Most communities offer some kind of fitness yoga, and may even offer yoga for new moms. Classes even allow you to bring your little one so you don't have to find a sitter or leave your baby at home. Beginner classes focus on reintroducing the body to exercise through gentle stretching and strengthening positions. As you become stronger and more limber you will find that you can go deeper into poses and hold them for longer, getting more benefits out of the class.

There are many different types of yoga, and starting with a beginner class will open up a whole new world of exercise for you. You can go for more meditative classes that focus on breath and connection to the world. Or you can get your heart rate up with some flow yoga which will keep you moving from pose to pose, or really challenge yourself with Bikram Yoga, which is performed in a 105F room and gets you sweating.

Fitness yoga will not only get you strong and toned, the positions will relax you and help you cope with stress. Cardio-based yogas will get the blood flowing to joints and muscles which will also release endorphins, the body's natural happy drug.

To succeed with fitness yoga you need to stick with it. Try to go twice a week if possible, you will see results quicker this way and you will find that your body is more responsive when there isn't a huge lag time in between sessions.

Can the Wii Fit Yoga help you tone your muscles and loose the post pregnancy baby fat and tone up your abdominal muscles with abdominal strengthening exercises?

What to Expect From a Prenatal Yoga DVD

There are a few different things you should expect from a prenatal yoga DVD and definitely some things you should expect from a good one. There are some vital things you need to look for when choosing the right prenatal yoga DVD for you and your baby.

You will definitely want to make sure that the positions and movements you are doing are safe for you and your baby. This changes throughout your pregnancy so a good prenatal yoga DVD will have variations of the poses you can do. What you can do in your first trimester is different from what you can do by the time you get to your second and third trimester. A prenatal yoga DVD will clearly explain for you what is safe for you to do at each stage of your pregnancy.

A good prenatal yoga DVD will explain each position and movement while showing you how the pose should be properly done. Having an example of each trimester of pregnancy is the best way for you to really see what you can do at each stage. A prenatal yoga DVD that has someone doing the poses who are in the first trimester, second trimester and third trimester is the best way to really see what your body can do in each stage and how you should be doing the poses for each trimester of pregnancy.

Showing you proper breathing techniques is also part of what a prenatal yoga DVD can teach you. This can help you calm and relax your breathing not only during pregnancy but also during childbirth. Being able to properly control your breathing during childbirth is vital to helping you stay in control and in helping you deal effectively with the pain.

A prenatal yoga DVD can also have meditation and relaxation techniques. This is another great tool for helping you deal with the pain that comes with childbirth. Learning these kinds of techniques can help put you in greater control of your mind and body both during pregnancy and childbirth. The more you can control and direct your thoughts and feelings, the better experience you can give yourself and your baby both during pregnancy and during childbirth.

If you did not do yoga before getting pregnant, getting a prenatal yoga DVD may not be the best path for you. Going to at least a few prenatal yoga classes before getting a DVD would probably be a better option for you. That way you would have some familiarity with yoga and how to do some of the different poses correctly.

Choosing the right prenatal yoga DVD for you is both a matter of personal preference as well as making sure that you are an informed consumer. Getting a DVD that takes you and your baby's safety into account is vital and the most important factor when choosing a prenatal yoga DVD. Get more information about yoga during pregnancy and prenatal yoga DVDs at http://www.PrenatalYogaDVD.net

Don't Push the River

Don't push the river. It flows by itself. Enter the current and ride the wave. Dance with life without resistance. Grace Is prevalent everywhere.

The universe is a sea of infinite possibilities and the only thing that hinders our progress is our mindset. At any given time there are two voices playing in our heads. Which voice we listen to makes all the difference. We often heed the compelling voice of reason that tells us that great force and strength must be exerted to create real change- whether it be physically at the gym, or verbally through our language, the harsh or loud tone of our voice, even the imposing suit or uniform we wear to work each day that creates a perception of power. Yet equally mighty and far less energy-zapping is the ability to yield and surrender. In an economy when all around us are urging us of the necessity of taking action and oftentimes drastic steps to change what we don't like about our situation, I invite you to balance all the frenzy that doing creates and be in a state of receiving and simply being. Take a yoga class, get a massage, speak to those that have hurt you with kindness and an awareness that they too are on the path going through their own challenges and struggles. Sit with your own sadness, your pain, your anxiety without pushing it away or dwelling in it. Surrender is not apathy or not caring. It is simply acknowledging the Is-ness of the situation as it currently stands and recognizing is impermanence.

Karuna Yoga practice for Compassionate Living: Stay Present

Be deeply rooted in this very moment. Cultivate presence now by taking a moment to take 3 conscious deep breaths. Become aware of any tightness in your belly or a contraction in the region of your heart. Then breathe into this space and feel the area soften. With your attention on the simple act of breathing, you are no longer dwelling on the past nor are you projecting into the future, the unknown. You are cultivating the skill of letting go. By simply breathing, softening and surrendering to the moment you release the need to know everything, decide everything, understand everything. When you can be in the mystery and dance with life without resistance, you are opening up the life force within your being and immersing yourself in the flow of Life. In this state, things begin to shift and transform with much less effort on your part, people enter your world, circumstances are created that pave the way for you to receive exactly what you need to move forward in your life. Let this be a time for riding the wave you are on with grace, ease and a deep sense of presence and inner stillness no matter what turbulence surrounds you.

For those of you that would like support and guidance in navigating through the muddy waters, I am here to support you either through private sessions, phone consultations (for those of you that do not live in Las Vegas) and my weekly group Karuna Yoga and meditation classes.

Creating peace one breath at a time, let's unite in raising the vibration; transforming fear into hope, darkness into light and limitations into opportunities and springboards for Living Yoga Celebrating Life.

Leena Patel is currently based in Las Vegas where she lives, breathes and teaches yoga and meditation. She has written numerous articles on health, yoga and spirituality and has taught luminaries that include Celine Dion, Jaime King and Wayne Brady. More information can be found at http://www.LeenaPatel.net

Why Stressed Financiers Are Turning to Yoga in the Credit Crunch

A growing number of bankers and money managers in the USA are turning to yoga in the current unstable financial climate. According to the Wall Street Journal, over 15 million people in the US practice yoga, and in recent months more and more financiers are seeking inner peace in a time of economic turbulence.

Here in the UK, yoga teachers are seeing a rise in yoga class numbers and many feel that raised stress levels have generated more interest in yoga. Yoga is now seen as a real, scientifically proven way to improve the quality of your life, and recent results in a random control trial show that Dru Yoga is an effective tool in managing stress.

'The research we have done shows that Dru Yoga significantly reduces stress', said Chris Barrington, director of Dru Yoga, one of the UK's largest yoga schools. It is a real antidote to the economic downturn, and even a little practice of Dru Yoga techniques can make a big difference to your life.'

Ways of overcoming the credit crunch with Dru Yoga

1. Learn a basic Dru Yoga sequence and practise it regularly. Some sequences take only a few moments, yet can make a difference to stress levels. There are Dru Yoga classes in most towns and cities, or online classes are also available.

2. Keep emotionally balanced. You're much more likely to make the right financial decisions when you're feeling calm and centered. Dru Yoga and meditation help keep you mentally balanced, so you'll make the best choices at the right time.

3. Give yourself a retreat - on a yoga holiday you'll experience a selection of techniques to balance stress including deep relaxation, meditation and Yoga. If you can't afford to go away, give yourself a day off and switch off your phones, ignore your computer, and instead go for a walk in nature. All things will pass, including economic downturns.

4. Beat anxiety with Dru Meditation. Insomnia, panic attacks and headaches are some of the symptoms being labelled as Credit Crunch Stress, which can be helped by relaxation and meditation. Try breathing deeply, equalising the in and out-breaths. Close your eyes and just become aware of the coolness of the in-breath and the warm of the out-breath on your nostrils. Continue for at least five minutes, then stretch and open your eyes gradually.

Druworldwide.com/ is the website where you'll find Dru yoga tips, retreats and holidays. If you're looking for a Dru DVDs, Cds or yoga books, then visit http://shop.druworldwide.com/

Jane Clapham is a Dru yoga teacher, and leads yoga and meditation retreats and holidays in the celtic mountains of Wales and worldwide. Contact her at hello@druworldwide.com to be included in the weekly newsletter from Dru worldwide, which includes yoga and stress-busting tips. For more information about Dru Yoga, visit http://www.druworldwide.com/ You'll find yoga classes, yoga holidays and yoga training courses which are taught in the UK, North America, Netherlands and Australia. Have a stress-free day!

What is Yoga in America?

What is yoga? I was once told you get out of yoga what you want from it. I don't remember what yogi told me that. It has stuck and I have found that to be true. Not only for myself but for the students I have taught. I myself started taking yoga as a matter of curiosity not only for what yoga is but as an interest in finding a form of exercise that I can do that doesn't create migraines for me.

I started yoga back in the late 90's while I was working and going to graduate school. I sat down for the initial meditation of class and had to hold back the tears. I was so incredibly stressed out yoga was exactly what I needed. I kept up with it as a way to manage my stress levels. Eventually I started taking more and more classes and found that my physical body was changing.

I was getting more fit and healthy. My needs for yoga began to change. I liked how I was looking and feeling. I wanted more form yoga, I wanted to sweat and feel like I had pushed my body to the edge each and every class. My instructor kept encouraging me to teach. I wasn't ready for that. I wanted to learn more and understand what yoga was about before I took on that role of all knowing teacher. I gradually began to enjoy, even look forward to meditation. Especially at the close of class with savasana.

My first few yoga instructors were Anusara instructors. From there I worked with a few Vinyasa instructors, Iyengar, and Vini instructors. As an instructor, I am a combination of all these forms. Recently I took classes from an instructor that taught from the Dynamic Yoga perspective. I continue to learn. Yoga has so much to give. There are so many schools of yoga to try. I started branching out and taking workshops with yogis outside of the St. Louis area. These yogis pushed my internal boundaries of comfort and knowledge. My wants from yoga became that of what can I actually do with my physical space and how deep can I get into my internal space to clear out old junk and debris? I found yoga to be extremely healing.

In fact around 2001 I had a nasty car accident where I was rear ended by public transportation bus. It left me with some spinal issues that I was struggling with even under the care of a physical therapist and chiropractor. After an emotionally grueling workshop I went home crying. That night I had a sensation I can only explain as tingling up and down my spine. When I woke up the pain I had been unable to release for months was gone. I went back to the workshop renewed and excited. I continued to utilize the grounding powers of yoga to help me manage my stress levels as I graduated from graduate school and started out in the work force.

Professionally I have chosen a stressful job, I work as a licensed counselor. I found that teaching my clients how to use simple techniques such has pranayama, to be helpful to them as well to manage their own emotional issues. Of course I eventually began teaching yoga as well. As the Universe does the students who sought me out tended to have emotional issues, and hopefully they had their own therapist outside of their yoga mat. Yoga taught me boundaries. Boundaries to have with my clients and my students. Yoga helped me accept the type of yoga instructor I am.

I am a great intermediate and advanced instructor. I am a fair to good beginner instructor. This caused some struggle with my personal instructor whom I taught for. She allowed me to be the instructor I was and gave me space to learn and grow. Without yoga I would have just given up and left that studio all together. My students found that I was challenging and I enjoyed seeing where the edge of everyone's yoga practice was. They knew they could count on a physically challenging class as well as fun and laughter to fill the studio.

What I have stated numerous times when you try yoga try different instructors. We're all different, you'll learn new things from each of us and find those you really connect to and some you don't. And that's OK. When my students became comfortable with me as a person and with their yoga practice they would ask for what they wanted and needed in class. Some moved on to other instructors. Some are instructors themselves. In fact one student moved back to Europe with her Yoga Certification in hand. Many students came to class wanting to relax, some came via requests of their PCP, physical therapist, or chiropractor for physical reasons.

Those students that I was blessed to have with me for a long time also found their need from yoga changed and evolved. The one constant in life is change, and thus yoga changes as well.
From my counseling career I became a Certified Professional Coach, a fancy way of saying I'm a trained Life Coach. I have meshed my yoga in with my coaching as well and have co-facilitated workshops that included both, with great success. It was wonderful to watch students take their yoga to a new, deeper, emotional and spiritual level that allowed them to move forward in life with more ease and satisfaction. I continue to enmesh my yoga into my coaching practice. In fact I specialize, as a Life Coach, in coaching yogis with creating balance throughout their entire life.

I currently am fusing my yoga with parenting. Breathing and meditating can make a toddler's temper tantrum seem like a minor thing. As a student I'm not sure what I want from yoga right now. It's just an old friend whom stays with me no matter what path I choose. As an instructor I want to continue to fuse yoga with coaching and have on-going workshops as well as individual sessions that bring more balance to my clients and the planet.

So the original question was What is yoga? In America it's very different from what it originated as in India, a way to get closer to God. Yet if you stay with yoga it will likely bring you closer to your spiritual self, emotional self, and physical self. It is not a form of religion unless you want it to be. It is not a cult. From my perspective it is plainly what you want it to be.

Tara S. Dickherber, M.Ed, CPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Professional Coach, ScreamFree Parent Leader, and yogi. She has practiced yoga for over 12 years and taught for 10 years. Tara currently specializes in coaching individuals who seek to incorporate their yoga practice throughout their life to create balance for life. She also specializes in coaching parents who want to overcome their own past issues to be the best parents they can be. To learn more about Tara go to http://www.mylifecoachtara.com