Friday, August 31, 2007

There is a form of Yoga for everyone

The Purpose of Yoga- Choosing a Yoga Teacher and a Yoga School
Choosing the right Yoga teacher, and a compatible Yoga style, is more complicated than most people realize. Most Yoga students should first research through the many Yoga styles available, in their local area, to determine which will best suit their needs.

There are many to choose from, when you consider there are nine main Yoga styles from India. These nine main styles are: Bhakti, Raja, Karma, Jnana, Hatha, Kundalini, Tantra, Yantra, and Mantra Yoga. Each of these Yoga styles places different emphasis on the methods for union of mind, body, emotion, and spirit. There are also many hundreds of sub-styles of these forms of Yoga.
Outside of India, Hatha Yoga, and its many sub-styles, is most commonly seen. With all of this in mind, researching the prospective style is very important. You should learn and compare local styles of Yoga, which are available to you.
Then you should consider which of the following is the most important health aspect - Is it mental, physical, emotional, spiritual health, or a combination of them? All of us do not have the same needs.
For example: If you are in search of relief from stress, you might not be looking for “Boot Camp Yoga,” complete with a “drill sergeant” to bark out commands and insults for you to “shape up or ship out.” Yet, some people love Yoga boot camps for the feelings of accomplishment and empowerment, which carry over into everyday life.

With that said, if you are looking for a “Yoga workout,” a class that focuses on meditation may not suit your needs. The many benefits of meditation cannot be realized by a closed mind. You cannot force yourself to meditate and neither can your Yoga teacher.
You can, at least, try to meditate, but if you are not receptive to it, you may be best to try a physical style or take a Pilates class. This is not meant to speak ill of physical styles, or Pilates, but it brings to mind a saying – “You can't teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of time and it annoys the pig.” So, wh y bother wasting time? Find a Yoga style, which fulfills your needs, and enjoy your life.
If you are searching for a Yoga exercise class, Hatha styles, such as Bikram, Vinyasa, Power, and Hot Yoga, may be just what you are looking for. Ashtanga is also physically challenging, however, Ashtanga is the Sanskrit word for “eight limbs,” and is a form of Yoga described by Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras. Ashtanga is sometimes called, “Raja” Yoga, which is one of the nine main Indian Yoga styles.

Now – let’s say you are middle aged, or older - have been inactive for a while -possibly have some physical limitations – and you are searching for a Yoga style to help you get the most out of life. In this case, the gentler Hatha Yoga sub- styles, such as Restorative, Iyengar, Kripalu, and Chair Yoga, will help you age more gracefully.
Lastly, there is a form of Yoga for everyone, of any age, but you want to research, educate yourself, try it out, and find the Yoga teacher who is suitable for you.<>© Copyright 2007 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications
Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Friday, August 24, 2007

When you wish to improve a particular skill

Expand Your Mental Powers
Over the centuries, human beings have developed many techniques to gain access to their inner wisdom and improve learning.
One technique that many people have found very beneficial is to have an imaginary guide that they can call on for advice and insight.
A modern variation of this technique has been developed by intelligence researcher Dr. Win Wenger and it is detailed in his book "The Einstein Factor"
This exercise is sometimes called "Putting on the Expert’s Head"
This technique enables you to access some of the enormous untapped potential that resides in the mind of every individual. This technique can even accelerate your ability to develop a new skill. It gives you access to parts of yourself that you are normally not aware of.
It can improve your ability to come up with new creative ideas.
The first step is to decide what knowledge or skill you would like to develop in yourself. What are you interested in that you would like to do better? You might wish to improve your skill at archery, sculpture or painting, doing mathematics, or playing a musical instrument.
Once you have decided what skill or knowledge you would like to develop, take some time to think about those people you consider an expert in this chosen field. Whose skills do you admire? Who do you think of as a great role model and expert in the field?
The person need not be currently living. Before you move ahead with this exercise, you may wish to research the life of the person you have chosen.
You might even decide you want to see the world from the perspective of your favorite animal or bird, such as a wolf or an eagle.
When you are ready to do the Expert's Head exercise, prepare yourself by deeply relaxing your body and your mind. Take some time to get comfortable in a place where you will not be disturbed. Internally scan your body for tension, and allow your muscles to relax. Breathe calmly and smoothly in a relaxed way.
Now think: is there a particular pla ce where you would like to meet your imaginary expert? You might want to meet this guide in your own home, but feel free to imagine another site. For example, you could visualize meeting in a beautiful garden, in a forest, on top of a mountain, or some other location.
You can improve your ability to visualize imaginatively by speaking out loud your inner impressions to a tape recorder, or to another person. Eventually, even the slightest glimmer of imagination will be reinforced and amplified by consistent practice of this exercise.
If you are not yet able to easily imagine a location in which to meet your chosen expert, don't worry. Simply move forward to the imagined encounter with this person, whenever you are ready.
Your imaginary encounter may go exactly as planned, or there may be surprises in store for you. Perhaps someone you weren’t expecting shows up. Perhaps your chosen expert does not want to participate. If no one appears in your mind's imagination, ask for someone to come forwa rd, and then wait.
When your imaginary guide appears, handle the encounter with as much politeness and respect as you would a real life encounter with a real person. Do you feel comfortable in the presence of this expert? Do you have the sense that the expert feels comfortable with you?
Even if these guides are figments of your inner mind, you still need to be sure you are accessing a part of yourself that wants to promote only the best for you.
If you get any sense of discomfort between you, thank the expert for coming, and politely dismiss him or her. Think of another expert you admire in your chosen field and create an imaginary encounter with that person. You may even have to create a totally fictitious character to be your imaginary expert.
Once you have established a meeting with your chosen expert, mentally picture yourself and your visiting expert standing facing each other in an attitude of great respect. Gently put your arms out and slowly remove the expert’s head from his or her body. Since this is only an imaginary person or animal, the head should come off quite easily.
Place the expert's head above your own, facing the right way, and lower it over your own head. Now believe that you are looking out at the world through the eyes of your chosen expert, hearing through the expert's ears, smelling through the expert's nose.
Take the time to allow the expert's mind to slowly merge with your own mind. Now gently pull the expert's body towards you, and step into it. Feel as if it fits you perfectly. Feel that you have merged with the expert's mind and body and can feel and do the same things.
When you feel that you are actually in the expert's body, notice what seems different to you. Does the world look different in any way? Do any of your attitudes feel different? How does your body feel different? Can you feel the confident attitude of the expert? Memorize the sensation.
Focus on the differences you notice and start to talk about them out loud. Spend at lea st five minutes doing this step. When you have finished, gently step out of the borrowed imaginary body and carefully remove the expert's head from you own. Respectfully return the head and body to the expert. Thank that person for allowing you to have this experience.
You can use the Expert's Head technique to improve your skills at some desired activity, to develop new creative insights, or to accelerate your ability to learn to do something you have never done before.
First spend a few weeks performing the Expert's Head exercise daily to familiarize yourself with it. Each time you do it, spend about 10 –15 minutes mentally being the character of the expert, wearing the expert’s head and body.
After about fifteen minutes, gently remove the expert’s head and step out of the expert’s body. Thank the expert for the use of his or her body, mind and talent. Ask the person to continue filling your mind with more of their expert knowledge and ability even when you are not practicing this exercise .
Before the experience starts to fade from your memory, spend a few minutes writing down or speaking out loud everything you can remember. Write down or speak everything you can remember that was really different when you were in the expert’s mind and body, rather than as yourself.
When you wish to improve a particular skill, first spend about 15 minutes mentally doing it as yourself. Then slip into the expert's head and body to continue the exercise in real life for another fifteen to thirty minutes. If you repeat this process about three times a day, you will experience a greatly accelerated ability to master the skills you desire.
Please realize that advice and knowledge received in this manner is not infallible. Do not feel obligated to act on any advice received from your inner dialogue with your imagined guides unless you are absolutely convinced it is appropriate for you at this time.
This technique can greatly increase access to your inner creativity and wisdom, but you will s till need to make informed and reasoned decisions about what you do.
This article was written by Royane Real, author of the book, "How You Can Be Smarter – Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better, and Be More Creative" To learn more brain boosting techniques, download it today at http://www.royanereal.com

Monday, August 13, 2007

Dr. Wayne Dyer's self help books

10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace - Wayne Dyer Book Mini-Review
Dr. Wayne Dyer published his best-selling book, "10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace" and it's an easy read. It's the type of book that you can crack open and find nuggets on pretty much every page you open it to.
Unlike books that give specific advice about actions you could take to achieve success, Dr. Dyer doesn't share any advice on goal-setting, planning your future, or how to listen to older folks who have been there, done that. Instead, he wrote the book to help folks avoid feelings of inadequacy or inner remorse for not having listened to their inner guidance. While the book does have discussion around becoming a greater 'success' in life, perhaps it's more appropriate to say that the book is about finding your own 'inner peace' moreso than success itself.
As I read his book, I couldn't help thinking that the 10 secrets are really reminders of what we already know to be true. Most people turn into autonomous robots going through the daily routine of life without giving any thoughts or meditation to slow down enough to listen to their own inner voice.
Some of Dr. Dyer's ten principles include:
Being open to everything and attached to nothing.
Embracing silence, since meditation is the only way to truly come to know your Source.
Knowing that you can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it.
Treating yourself as if you already are what you'd like to become.
"Stop Looking for Occasions to Be Offended"
One takeaway that I took from the book that is worth sharing: When I first read the book, there must have been at least 10 times that I read something that I wished someone else in my life would better understand.
Example: On Page 110, Dr. Dyer says, "Stop Looking for Occasions to Be Offended" and I immediately thought of someone else that I know who is easily offended or looks to be offended daily.

A few years later, I came to understand that this message was for me to understand (and not for others I thought 'should' understand the concepts). Seems more important to be able to release our judgment of others who choose to become offended easily.
We each create our own personal experience and really only have full control over our own perceptions of reality. Conversely, we have very little control over others. Therefore, it's the work of the ego that encourages us to judge and compare what others do against what we think they should do. Not exactly the formula for 'inner peace.' Therefore one of the secrets Dr. Dyer encourages us to consider is that there are no justified resentments.
Conclusion:
If you've been reading Dr. Wayne Dyer's self help books since the 1970's, you'll quickly realize that this book offers or reinforces many of the same messages he has been talking about for decades. Still, it would be hard to read this book and not take 10 things out of it before you finish the first chapter. The 10th secret is my favorite. The ISBN for "10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace" is: 1561708755 and it's worth picking up if you don't already own it.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Successful Goal Achievement



No one becomes successful by accident. Motivational speaker Les Brown advises, “You must see your goals clearly and specifically before you can set out for them. Hold them in your mind until they become second nature.” Certainly, visualization is an essential element of achieving success.


Visualization is a secret shared by top athletes, actors, performers, and business leaders. It is used by almost all successful people. Visualization is mentally picturing an event before it happens, and seeing yourself successfully accomplishing the event. It is a powerful tool used to generate confidence, motivation, and faith. Imagine if right now you could motivate yourself, and then keep yourself motivated — how much you could achieve? Visualization creates energy, determination, and allows your creativity to generate new ideas to overcome possible obstacles. Vision creates motivation. Vision creates persistence.


The first step in creating what you want is to determine exactly what it is you want. Sounds simple, but it is not always so. For a dream to become a goal, clarity and detail are required. It’s not enough just to have "an idea” of what we want. We need to define exactly what we want. The first step is to shape it, define it, visualize it.




Dr. Annette Colby, RDNutrition Therapist & Master Energy Therapist
Subscribe to our FREE content filled newsletter and see why it’s been called the best e-zine on the net!
http://www.lovingmiracles.com/Miracles@AnnetteColby.com972.985.8750"Opening Creative Portals to Success"

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Life Is A Choice

Everything in life is a choice—are you choosing the best or are you choosing to see more negative in every situation or experience?


There are many choices for every situation or issue. Some days it seems everything goes well, people help us, the details of events/projects fall into place, outcomes and rewards are visible. Albeit other days everything seems to be up hill or full of ebbs and under-currents.


The first step is to recognize that you have an inner ‘center of control’ that is vital to your being truly in your unique flow. This ‘center of control’ emanates from your core being—the you that you are. A highly effective core can be described as:


• Consistent
• Contemplative
• Decisive
• Determined
• Focused
• Introspective
• Organized
• Persistent


There is immense power in these characteristics to make choices.


When people fail to choose to be the center of their choices, they generally blame others for their lack of success, or they berate themselves over past deeds, perceived mistakes and ancient experiences, and that stops the flow of creativity and forward movement.


The second step is to ‘forgive’ yourself for any perceived lack, misdeeds, perceived mistakes and ancient history—none of which, you can change no matter how much you berate yourself.


"Many people are afraid to forgive because they feel they must remember the wrong or they will not learn from it. The opposite is true. Through forgiveness, the wrong is released from its emotional stranglehold on us so that we can learn from it. Through the power and intelligence of the heart, the release of forgiveness brings expanded intelligence to work with the situation more effectively.” --David & Bruce McArthur


What does this statement convey? Although holding grudges may seem like human nature, it is a learned behaviour. Studies show that holding grudges or blaming ourselves works to the detriment not only of spiritual well-being, but for our physical health as well. Resentment, bitterness, hostility, anger and fear are emotions that have specific physiological consequences—increased blood pressure, hormonal changes, arthritis, TMJ, ulcers, cancer, lupus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, cardiovascular disease, immune suppression and impaired neurological function and the list goes on. Metaphysics research reveals every physical illness has a mental/emotional cause and there is a metaphysical way to overcome them.


On the other side the coin, research reveals that forgiveness reduces the stress of the unforgiving state. Researcher Charlotte vanOyen Wityliet, posits that forgiveness needs to be incorporated into everyone’s maturation process as a way of life, not merely a response to specific insults. Thus, forgiveness is part of a child’s acculturation instead of a side bar in life. Learning to forgive, needs to be as important as learning to say, please and thank you. “It’s a process, not a moment,” says Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a Harvard psychiatrist and author of “Dare to Forgive.”


See articles:


Forgiveness—Ordinary Acts, Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD
http://ezinearticles.com/?Forgiveness---Ordinary-Acts&id=357060


Forgiveness—Benefits, Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD
http://ezinearticles.com/?Forgiveness—Benefits&id=356627


Forgiveness—The Key To Peace of Mind
http://ezinearticles.com/?Forgiveness—The-Key-to-Peace-of-Mind&id=275172


Forgiveness—Truths and Myths, Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD


Forgiveness—A Misunderstood Concept, Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD


Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, "101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life." Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

Your Attitude Is Your Choice

By: Michael A. Verdicchio


Few people believe that their attitude is their own choice. For most people, their attitude depends upon people and circumstances. If people are nice to them, then they have a good attitude. If circumstances are favorable, they are in a good mood.

On the other hand, if someone treats them unfairly, then they have a bad attitude. If the circumstances are not favorable, they are in a bad mood.

Most people fail to realize that their attitude and their mood are really their own choice. Let me give you a silly example.

Awhile back, someone sent the following to me in an email.

A little old lady went to the mirror one morning and noticed that she had only three hairs on her head. As she looked into the mirror, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next morning, at the mirror once again, the little old lady noticed that she only had two hairs on her head. Looking herself right in the eye, she said, "Today, I think I'll part my hair down the middle." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next day, as the little old lady looked into the mirror, there was only one hair on her head. She looked at that one lonely hair and said, "Today I think I'll wear my hair in a pony tail." That's exactly what she did. And she had a great day.

The following morning the little old lady looked into the mirror and there wasn't a single hair on her head. Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Yeah! I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Your attitude is your choice.

Now, if you're a lady, please don't let this illustration shake you up too much, okay? I am quite aware that in our culture bald men are considered more attractive than bald women. In fact, I thought about that when I first read this story in the email. I wondered why they used the example of a woman in the story.

But the more I thought about it, the more I saw how much more powerful and dramatic this example is with a woman! The whole point of the illustration is all about attitude.

We can blame circumstances for our attitude. We can blame the actions of others for our attitude. We can even blame the dog. But the truth is, we decide, we choose and we determine our attitude at any given moment.

The attitude that you have right now, at this very moment, is the one you have chosen to carry around. It is determined by your thoughts.

In this silly illustration about the woman, she could have had one lousy day after another watching her each hair disappear just as easily. She could have spent her days depressed. She could have spent her time being angry.

Instead, she looked for something to be positive about, even in the middle of a lousy situation. She chose to deal with her situation in a positive way, and as a result she had a great day. Even though this is a fictional story, the point is well made.

Think about it. When was the last time you had a lousy attitude and a great day? Do you think that a connection exists between attitude, thoughts and physical realities of the day you are having? Of course it does!

I like to end my blogs with, "Choose to have a great day." There will certainly be days with circumstances that we are not able to change. There may be people we deal with that act like jerks. But, regardless of what we are faced with each day, we can choose to let it affect our attitude, or we can choose to not let it affect our attitude.

Attitude is a choice. Choose to have a great day!




About The Author

Michael A. Verdicchio is a husband, father, minister, author,and broadcaster. He has been the voice on numerous productions over the years. Michael has a free newsletter called, THE PEP LETTER, at
http://www.christianinspirationalgifts.com/pepletter.html.

Greg Vanden Berge Visit us and Check out our selection of ebooks and books.