Thursday, December 18, 2014
Yoga Asana
Yoga is a discipline that aims to benefit the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of a practitioner.
The physical aspect of Yoga is Yoga Hatha
which practices
the positioning and posturing of the body
to achieve balance between body and
mind.
Applying conscious breathing with mental focus cultivates the ability to
remain in seated meditation for extended periods.
This practice improves the
body's flexibility and vitality,
achieving awareness, strength and flexibility,
and relaxation of the body,
a sense of well-being to the practitioner.
Yoga Asana is the art of practicing these yoga postures or yoga positions.
A way of sitting or standing is an asana,
and a posture like lying on the back, standing on the head and a variety of other positions is a yogasana.
A male practitioner is a yogin or yogi and a female practitioner is a yogini.
Yoga Asana aims to improve flexibility, strength and balance, increase energy and decrease fatigue,
reduce hypertension and improve blood circulation, and reduce stress, anxiety and symptoms of body pain.
A group of 84 classic yoga asanas
taught by Lord Shiva is mentioned in several classic texts on yoga.
Over the years its popularity and practice
worldwide
results in many combinations and variations of these yoga postures
or positions,
some of which rival the art of contortionists.
Today the number of yogasanas is beyond
categorization.
In 2008, the government of India formed a team of yoga gurus, government officials,
and 200 scientists from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to register all known asanas in a public database.
The team collected asanas from 35 ancient texts including the Hindu epics,
the Mahabharata, the Bhagwad Gita, and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras;
and as of 2010, had identified 900 asanas for the database
which was named the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library and made available to patent examiners.
Yoga Asanas
are graceful in performance and beautiful in stillness;
while some advanced
asanas are limb twisting and bone testing contortion challengers.
Asanas also have imaginative and
meaningful names.
Names such as The Scorpion Pose, The King Pigeon Pose, The Tiptoe Balance Pose,
and The Mermaid Pose do help the imagination of these respective poses.
King Pigeon Pose
Stretches the thighs, groins, abdomen, chest, shoulders and
neck.
Stimulates the abdominal organs. Opens the shoulders and
chest.
Tiptoe Balance
Improves strength and flexibility in the toes, ankles,
knees, hips and thighs.
This is an intermediate level pose.
Mermaid Pose
This pose stretches the thighs, groins, shoulders, and
chest.
It improves mobility in the spine and hips, strengthens the
abdominal muscles,
and stimulates the organs of the torso.
Scorpion Pose
Strengthens the torso, back, arms and shoulders.
Improves sense of balance and flexibility,
and releases stress in the shoulders and spine.
Monday, December 01, 2014
Mazes and labyrinths
What is a
maze?
Dictionary: a confusing network of intercommunicating
paths or passages; labyrinth.
Example: any complex system or arrangement that causes
bewilderment, confusion, or perplexity.
What is a labyrinth?
Dictionary: an intricate
combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to
reach the exit; maze.
Example: a maze of paths
bordered by high hedges, as in a park or garden, for the amusement of those who
search for a way out.
Anyone who is confused by these illustrations is facing a
maze; and to get out of this maze please go through the labyrinth.
Got it ?
Got it !
Mazes and labyrinths are created for amusement, for fun, for health
and for mental challenges or mental relaxation.
For amusement
with mazes go to the parks; go in with friends or like-minded companions.
For
mental relaxation use a board labyrinth in a quiet place.
Get a good tabletop board labyrinth, or make one, and walk with one
finger, the forefinger is best.
Walking along the groove is an automatic
movement, like liquid flowing along a channel.
This frees the mind, frees the
mind, and frees the mind.
Got it ?
Got it !
Extracted and rewritten from the Internet on Labyrinth Walking benefits.
The labyrinth walk is a walking meditation, a path where psyche meets spirit.
Walking the labyrinth reduces stress, quiets the mind, grounds the body
and opens the heart.
A labyrinth walk can help you feel the relaxation response,
which is the opposite of the stress "fight or flight" state.
The
relaxation response brings slower breathing, a slower heart rate, and lower
blood pressure, and reducing insomnia.
A maze challenges the cognitive "left brain" while
a labyrinth appeals to the intuitive "right brain," and thus can be
calming and relaxing.
A maze is about the journey out, a labyrinth is about the
spiritual journey.
Anecdotal research indicates that a labyrinth positively
effects the brain wave activity and neurological responses of some of its users, shows a short-term increase in mental clarity in some people with Alzheimer’s,
schizophrenia and dyslexia, as well as greater mobility in some who are
suffering with Parkinson’s disease.
Whatever you experience, relax and enjoy it.
Focus on the
journey, not the destination
Labyrinths are
currently being used world-wide as a way to quiet the mind, recover a balance
in life,
and encourage meditation, insight, self-reflection, stress reduction,
and to discover innovation and celebration.
They are open to all people as a
non-denominational, cross-cultural blueprint for well-being.
The practice of
labyrinth walking integrates the body with the mind and the mind with the
spirit.
They can be found in medical centers, parks, churches, schools,
prisons, memorial parks, spas,
cathedrals and retreat centers as well as in
people's backyards.
Attachments area
Preview attachment Labyrinth0501.jpg