The Best Piece of Advice I Ever Was Given

Photography by PaulPrescott.com

I was in an Ashram*. Having my hedonistic, narcissistic, capitalist-conditioned mind blown open by a small group of people who dedicate their lives – completely – to the benefit of the world around them. A small group of Swamis.

Before I left, I asked my favorite Swami for a piece of advice. Here’s what he said...

(you can read the rest here on Elephant Journal)

Offended by the word Cunt? (This one’s for you)

Mark was my best friend.

We grew up together. I knew him since I was 4 years old.

We used to sleep over at each other’s houses, sliding down the staircases in sleeping bags, keeping each other’s parents awake at night.

I never felt comfortable in his house though. Everything was too clean and tidy – not a thing out of place.

And he wasn’t allowed to say ‘God’. He got round this by saying Gaw’ instead (like Gawd – ‘Queen’s English’ pronunciation, but without the D). I remember the first time I heard him say it. I laughed out loud.

His mother (who I must say is a lovely lady, and still friends with my mother) didn’t let him say God, but Gaw’ was ok. Even though we all knew that the meaning was the same.

I was always afraid of his Mother as a child. She reminded me of Nurse Ratched.

The thing that bothered me the most about this vocabulary restriction that my friend was under – it sounded so contrived. As if, at the moment when he wanted to exclaim “Oh my God, the house is on fire!” or “Good God, I’ve never seen such a large carrot”, or “God Almighty is that really the time?”, he had to check his surprise / indignation / relief, and redirect his feeling into another direction. It was the censorship of expression that I found hard to swallow...

What happens when you do Yoga: part 1: Asana

10 amazing benefits of a regular yoga practice.

Asanas are the physical position, or postures, of yoga. Asana is a Sanskrit word.

Sanskrit is known as the language of the Gods. It is ancient, subtle, and complex.

The word asana means seat, or position: literally, the relationship that your body has to the earth. Sanskrit being Sanskrit, there is also an implied meaning: steadiness, and comfort.

So asana is a position that is held steady and comfortable.

Petra in King Cobra; Poorna Bhujangasana

What happens when you practice these positions in the right way (holding them steady, and relaxing into them) is that you (1) breathe deeply. Since any time you remain steady and relax deeply, your breathing will also deepen as a natural consequence.

As your body lets go of unnecessary tension (which is absolutely inevitable with practice, because it’s simply not possible to hold an asana whilst also holding on to stress) there is a deep (2) ‘letting go’. Emotional stress that was locked away in the muscles and tissues of the body, especially the fascia, dissolves. This is why people sometimes cry or feel emotional during yoga practice; usually however the ‘letting go’ is on a more subconscious level.

Yoga teachers training: how I stopped resisting, and started living.

Ben, Vijendra, Sacred mountain

It’s coming towards the end of January, 2001 - and the end of my one month Yoga teacher’s training course in Kerala, India.

It’s been the longest month of my life - bar none. I’ve been ill for most of that time with bronchitis, tonsillitis, and flu (yes, simultaneously) and I never would have believed that it was possible to feel quite so useless. Having never been seriously ill in my life, and having come here with the idea that I would become God of Asana, it’s been a humbling experience, to say the least...

WHAT IS HEALTH?

Many people (including many doctors!) view HEALTH like this: "we are healthy when there is nothing wrong".

You know what? When you look at health like that, you are really just waiting to get sick!

I'm going to share with you some information that not many people know, and fewer understand.

I want to tell you WHAT HEALTH REALLY IS.

I'm also going to give you 5 practical tips which, if applied intelligently, will transform your life!

Health is not a lack of disease. It is not the absence of sickness. It is not a negative anything. But many people (including many doctors!) view it like this: "we are healthy when there is nothing wrong".

You know what? When you look at health like that, you are really just waiting to get sick!

RELAXATION 1 - WHAT is relaxation?

With this blog I want to GIVE you as much information and practical advice as I can.

So this is the first of a series of guides on relaxation. It's a big subect - one that in reality few people really think about, but it's so important. It's fundamental - without proper relaxation we cannot be successful in any area of our lives. So I'm breaking it down into three manageable chunks:
Today I will tell you WHAT relaxation is (it's not so obvious!).
In the 2nd article I will tell you WHY it's so important.
And finally I'll give you practical advice on HOW to incorporate relaxation into every day life.


WHAT is relaxation?


Relaxing means "going back".
Going back where?
Inside, where we BELONG!
Ok, but what does that mean?


Almost all our waking lives our attention (and energy) is directed outwards. It goes out through our eyes, our mouths, our bodies (our senses) into the world around us. It is attracted to other people, sounds, advertising, media... all of which are competing for our attention, 24 hours a day...

Breath: Bridge between mind & body

Nearby Forest

What is the single most important thing you ever do?

Breathe... more important than eating and drinking! 


You will survive for months without any food.


For a week perhaps without any water.

But without oxygen you only have minutes! We breathe 24 hours a day! But SO many people breathe badly - using too much energy; creating tension in their body; and not getting enough oxygen. I want to share with you here the three basic rules of correct, or proper breathing...