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.

MEDITATION

What is meditation?

I want to demystify meditation, and make it accessible to everyone. So I'm going to tell you in very simple terms what meditation is, and I'm going to share some of my experiences with you - partly to inspire, and partly to show you what is possible.


Meditation is really very simple:
It is the combination of deep relaxation, and focused concentration.

ENERGY: my personal experience of Kundalini Energy

 Awaken the snake: a tale of Kundalini and orgasm.

I originally wrote this article in response to the question: “How can I learn to feel my chakras?” from a student.

In answering that question, I found myself writing about Kundali.

Kundalini is a vast reservoir of natural energy that lies dormant in most people, until 'activated'. This activation is a process: it happens quite naturally and slowly as we evolve. But the process of evolution can be accelerated through disciplined spiritual practice. When the kundalini 'awakens', our consciousness changes: we become much more aware.

This article presents my own personal experience of this awakening...

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 2 - Importance of relaxation

As I said in the first part of this series, our society does not value relaxation: we are not taught how to relax.

The result of this is that we live in a society which is very stressful! (Stress being the opposite of relaxation).

One of the biggest stresses, let's face it, is other people: people are not relaxed, they are stressed, and that makes US more stressed! Know what I mean?

Take a look around - how many of the faces you see are relaxed and smiling, and how many are hard looking, grumpy, sad, stressful faces?
I used to think that I was an 'island' - that I was not affected by other people's moods and energy. Now I see how hard it is to really remain centered and free from those influences...

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...