FIVE Myths From Meditation That Keep You in meditating and you became sucssesful journey with me..

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One inspired morning I decided to meditate, so I sat cross-legged and set my timer for 15 minutes. Less than two minutes later, I rolled up my yoga mat, discouraged and unable to sit still.

So much for that … and several attempts after that.When I expressed my frustrations to my friend, she encouraged me to attend a 10-day Vipassana retreat in which I’d commit to total silence for the entire time.

I laughed in disbelief. If a two-minute meditation was difficult, then a silent meditation retreat would be like more difficult and prepare my self.

And then it hit me. As an athlete, thinking of mediation as made sense: If I wanted to get good at meditation, I’d need to train. I would also need guidance and support. So, with trepidation, I signed up for a local one day meditation retreat.

Though I walked into the retreat with trepidation, I was surprised to find that some of my preconceived notions of meditation were keeping me stuck. If you, too, have struggled to start a mediation practice, perhaps letting go of these common misconceptions could make all the difference.

1. You must sit cross-legged.

This belief alone was enough to destroy my first attempt at meditation. As an athlete with very tight hips, sitting cross-legged for any period of time (even on a bolster) becomes very uncomfortable, very quickly. It’s hard to focus on breathing and calming your mind when your hips are screaming at you!

I was delighted to discover that you can meditate in many positions; lying down, sitting in chair, standing, even walking or floating! Meditation is something you can do pretty much anywhere. I now find myself meditating in variety of places … on my terrace, in my office, even standing in line at the grocery store, mall, train, garden, in crowd place, beach, other many more places..

2. You must think of nothing.

A clear mind is a great goal, but chances are you won’t tame your monkey mind right away. As you get started with meditation, your mind will wander. Don’t get frustrated! Remember, you have to train persistently to reach the summit. Meditation is about reigning in your mind when it strays. Let the monkey play, but gently remind it who’s boss. Means you likelike boss your thoughts, mind and its called habit. And daily meditation change your habit and life and life became easy and happy. .

3. You must sit in complete silence.

Silence can be a very uncomfortable place for the monkey mind. A bit of guidance can do wonders for keeping your mind on track. Guided meditation simply means that you have a teacher (either a class or a recorded audio) leading you through your meditation practice. Guided meditations often use visualization exercises such as full body relaxation. A guided visualization that I’ve particularly enjoyed is called “earth breathing,” which involves visualizing your body sinking into the ground. You can also get a little crazy with this and visualize yourself jumping out of a plane and falling towards the earth. This meditation visualization offers a wonderful sensation of grounded body and lightness of mind. Silence is more effective in meditation because you meet self and their self realization. .So wonderful experience..

4. You need a lot of time.

We’re busy people! Few of us have large chunks of time to devote to meditation. Good news! Even just 60 second ,90 second, 120 second, 150 second is enough time to meditate. Place one hand on your heart, one hand on your tummy and focus on taking 3 long deep breaths. You just did a short, yet powerful, meditation! And also breath meditation to you focus only breath and calm, relax also third eye meditation to concentrate your head in between third eye its very simple, easy method.. As per follow anyone

5. You must sit alone.

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Though many people meditate alone, group meditation is a wonderful way to get started. If you were training to climb a big mountain, then you might consider joining a hiking group. Same goes for meditation. A meditation class or group is a perfect place to find support and accountability. You’re much less likely to get frustrated and give up if you’re surrounded by people who are encouraging you to keep trying.

Congratulations, you’ve officially left meditation champion, Oh yes, your monkey mind will still play, but with practice and persistence, you’ll slowly make your way to your personal meditation summit. And your personal growth and outer behavior totally depends on meditation so safe and happy journey welcome to meditation world..

Remember to enjoy the journey! Journy is so far….and last not least every genious, and sucssesful people do the daily meditation . Meditation is success of key. .open key and you became sucssesful …..

MEDITATION VISUALIZATION :TECHNIQUES, TIPS, TYPES AND BENEFITS ABOUT MEDITATION

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What do you see when you meditate? Perhaps your answer is a resounding “nothing!”–and this is perfectly okay. However, even though a state of meditation is often cultivated through the withdrawal of the senses, there are many practices that utilize your inner senses as the object or focus of your concentration. By practicing visualization, we can use our sense of inner-sight and imagination to help us go deeper into our meditation practice, connecting with both our subconscious and our daily lives.

types of visualization meditation

There are five main methods for visualization exercises. They can broadly be catergorized into two main types. Techniques that focus on visualizing something tangible outside of the body and those that encourage us to see from the mind’s eye within. To find a visualization practice that works for you, consider one or more of the following five types of meditations.

1. Yantra or Mandala

A yantra is a diagram made of geometric patterns that, I’ve explained to students, is kind of like a mantra for the eyes (In fact, most yantras are related to a mantra and deity). Commonly used in tantric practices, contemplating a yantra can be a powerful tool for focusing awareness. However, even without a specific meaning attached, any mandala can serve as an object of meditation. By visualizing symmetrical and repetitive patterns, either with our eyes open or internally, we form new pathways in the brain and stimulate a sense of balance, clarity, and relaxation.

2. Guru or Deity

Many spiritual traditions focus on visualizing either a spiritual teacher or a deity and calling upon its qualities. Keep in mind that in both Hinduism and Buddhism, gods and goddesses represent different virtues of the divine and of ourselves. By visualizing deities, we focus on embodying these qualities in our own lives, so before beginning, find a deity that you can relate to and whose traits you wish to embrace in your life.

3. Jap mala or symbol

Anything Else that has Meaning to You

If the objects above don’t resonate with your interest, experiment with visualizing a candle flame, thee imagine of a flower, the sun or moon, your favorite place, or the eyes or face of a loved one. Anything that brings you a feeling of tranquility or ease can help you to come into a place of higher self-awareness and is a suitable symbols for visualization.

5. Guided Journey

Typically scripted, journey-style visualization can be beneficial to those who have trouble keeping the mind focused or for those who are looking for insight into daily life. These meditations usually include a relaxation exercise followed by a walk through nature, suggested encounters of some sort, and symbolic objects or obstacles that you might find throughout your way.

These practices are usually created with the intention to connect you with different aspects of your subconscious mind.It can also be empowering to lead yourself through a journey of your choice, especially through a difficult situation in life, in order to see yourself choosing behaviors and actions that are beneficial to you.

Various theories suggest the idea that our thoughts control our realities, so visualizing real-life scenarios can serve as a powerful exercise in overcoming challenges and creating the behaviors that you want to actualize.

Benefits of Visualization

Different types of visualization exercises offer different benefits. However, for those with wandering minds, any kind of visualization practice can offer a specific attention-grabbing focal point, along with guidance, either vague or detailed, depending on your needs.

We can use visualization exercises to help relax our bodies and minds, to get in touch with our own energy, or to connect with something greater than ourselves. Visualization also helps us to develop both creativity and concentration as we train our mind’s eye to work in new ways in order to form detailed images. Visualization is also commonly used as part of reaching a state of yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, in the form of image recollection and release.

By getting to know and utilizing the space behind our forehead known as Chidakasha (which translates to “the space of consciousness”), we become attuned to different facets of our own awareness.Finally, the visualization process can be taken over to life outside of meditation as well. In essence, we can use visualization to facilitate healing, to overcome obstacles, and to envision leading our lives in the way that feels best.

Visualization Tips

While many of us are inclined to easily visualize objects, ideas, or energy, for many of us (myself included), visualization does not come naturally. If you fall into this latter category of people, worry not! Visualization, like all meditation practices and techniques, is something that can be learned through repetition, keeping a few tips in mind:

If you’re using an object of focus, become familiar with this image beforehand. Keep the image or object in a place where you see it often, and look at it throughout the day to memorize its details.

With a physical object of meditation, it can also help to begin your meditation practice with open eyes and, if the image fades from your mind quickly, to take a quick glance at your object from time to time.

If it’s still hard to “see,” use your imagination and continue to practice.

Finally, keep in mind that in any meditation practice, it’s essential to find a position where you can remain both alert and relaxed in a place that feels nourishing to you.

Breathing Tips That Will Help You Train Harder

When you breathe ‘right’, you maximise the flow of oxygen around your body. This gives you more energy and helps prevent stitches. It also helps you keep calm as you train.

Keep these quick breathing tips in mind to get more from your workouts.

1. Actually do it

You do need to breathe! Not just in between, but during exercises. Holding your breath may be an instinctive reaction during a challenging movement, but this is counterproductive. It will make you tire faster and push up your heart rate.

If you find yourself constantly holding your breath, use your words. A bit of a roar, or counting out loud can force you to keep inhaling and exhaling. Just try to keep the swearing at a minimum!

Note: There is a method called the Valsalva Technique, which does recommend holding your breath.

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2. Don’t overdo it

Now that you’re breathing don’t do it too much. Hyperventilating expels too much carbon dioxide from your body too quickly, causing you to become lightheaded.

Prevent this from happening by keeping your breathing on a happy medium as much as possible – no giant gulps for air and no rapid in/out breaths. Establish a rhythm and stick to it as much as possible.

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3. Fill your diaphragm

‘Chest’ or ‘shoulder’ breathing is a no-no when working out because you are not filling your lungs with the good stuff (air). Taking shallow breaths uses the wrong muscles and can put unnecessary strain on your body.

Have a practice at breathing with your full diaphragm. You’ll notice you need to stand or sit up straight to do so, which is great because posture also makes a difference to your CrossFit workout.

Breathing correctly builds strength in your diaphragm, which in turn builds your cardio power.

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How to breathe

Some exercise physiologists recommend breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Others say to always exhale as you lift a weight, inhaling as you place it back down.

Not every technique suits each individual, so have a chat to your trainer about what works best for you.

3 Exercises to Increase Your Lung Power.

Breathe Right

Here’s how Mindy Solkin, a New York City-based coach, teaches runners to engage their diaphragms.

Open Your Mouth

Your mouth is larger than your nostrils, so it’s more effective at taking in oxygen. Also, keeping your mouth open keeps your face more relaxed, which makes it easier to breathe deeply.

Breathe in Patterns

Coordinating your inhales and exhales with your footfalls develops diaphragmatic strength. Start with a 2-2 pattern-breathe in while stepping left, right; breathe out while stepping left, right. Advance to 3-3 (breathe in, step left, right, left; breathe out, step right, left, right), and then a 4-4 pattern.

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Breath Enhancers

Cross-training exercises that reduce huffing and puffing

These three Pilates moves strengthen the diaphragm, stretch tight muscles, and improve posture-all of which help you run longer with less effort. Practice each exercise two or three times a week before you run.

1) The Hundred

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Keep your arms at your sides, palms down. Inhale and lift your head, neck, shoulders, and arms off the ground. Lift your knees and extend your feet so your legs are straight and at a 45-degree angle to the floor. Take five short breaths in and five short breaths out. While doing so, pump your arms, moving them in a controlled up and down manner. Do a cycle of 10 full breaths-each breath includes five inhales and five exhales. After you do 10 complete breaths, you will have completed 100 arm pumps.

The Payoff: Teaches controlled breathing, so that your inhales and exhales are balanced. Bonus: Builds strong abdominals.

2) The Swan

Lie face down with your palms flat under your shoulders (as if you were going to do a pushup). Look down so your neck is in line with your spine. Inhale and slowly lift your head, neck, shoulders, and chest as you press your hands into the ground. Keep a slight bend in your elbows. As you exhale, slowly lower yourself back down, chest first, then shoulders, neck, chin, and head. To avoid discomfort in your back, concentrate on pulling your shoulders back to open up your chest. Repeat 10 times.

The Payoff: Opens up the chest and deepens your lung capacity to correct shallow breathing.

3) Standing Chest Expansion

Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your arms at your sides. Inhale and sweep your arms out and up so that your biceps are near your ears and your palms are facing each other. Exhale and lower your arms back down to your sides. Repeat four times, concentrating on breathing deep and opening your chest. 

The Payoff: Stretches the intercostal muscles (which lie between the ribs), relaxes the shoulders, engages the diaphragm and pelvic floor, and helps balance breathing between the left and right lungs.

A meditation posture should include three main qualities: ALIGNMENT, RELAXATION and STILLNESS

1) Alignment of the back, neck and head in a comfortable upright natural way, do not hunch, do not lean neck forward, simply sit up straight’ with the chin slightly lowered. To help with alignment imagine a string attached from the centre of the crown and you are being drawn upward. Also try and raise the chest slightly to prevent slumping.
2) Relaxation of muscles, particularly the neck, shoulders and face. The posture should be comfortable. The arms should hang effortlessly, with the hands resting in the lap or lightly on the knees. The legs should be comfortable and relaxed and if your knees do not touch the ground you can support them with extra cushions to ease any pain in the hips.

3) Stillness of body means stability, not easily moved, with a sense of balance. To find your centre of balance you can gently rock side to side and forward and backward until you find a sense of the middle of your posture. For the duration of the meditation it is important to sit very still.
Eyes can be closed, slightly open or completely open, but should always remain fixed and not moving around, even when closed. You can experiement with both open and closed eyes. When open gaze at the floor 1-2 meters in front of you on the floor.

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There Are 6 Traditional Styles Of Sitting

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Full Lotus – Half Lotus – Burmese– are all on the front edge of cushion using the 45% angle of cushion to create natural arch in lower back and keep the chest open. Sitting in a Chair – try not to use the back support- just sit on the front edge of the chair. Kneeling on a cushion on its side – Kneeling on a Stool.*Experiment to find what suits you best.

“A good meditation posture is very still, balanced and comfortable.”

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A beginner should start with their eyes closed and, as attentional stability increases, you can try meditating with their eyes open, staring at the ground a meter in front of you or even gazing into the space directly in front. 
Breathing should be done through the nostrils.
 Experimentation is encouraged and always remember the point of a meditation posture is not to torture yourself with pain; if persistent pain occurs, try sitting in a chair, using a meditation stool or even lying flat on the floor.

Remember the posture should be straight but also relaxed, which represents and reflects the meditative state of mind of being alert yet calm.

6 Tips For A Great Meditation Posture

1) Let your spine resemble a pile of coins.

In exemplary Buddhist messages the clarification to keep an incredible stance is to envision your spine is a heap of coins. Presently these guidelines may have been before x-beams and chiropractors educating us regarding the common shape of the spine however the tip despite everything has extraordinary worth. It gives a decent feeling of parity and solidness to envision the heap of coins and in the event that you lean excessively far forward or back or excessively far left or right you can without much of a stretch envision the coins tumbling over.

2) Become a manikin on a string.

Envision you were held up by a string originating from the focal point of your crown. Increase a feeling of the string lifting you upward. This assists with lengthening the spine drawing the vitality upward, causing you to feel lighter and straight. To make this an incredible stance utilize your in breath to draw upward being pulled up by the string and utilize your out breath to loosen up the shoulders, neck, arms and critically loosen up the facial muscles. Utilize this in and out breath to increase lovely arrangement and unwinding – the benchmarks of an incredible stance.

3) Sit like a mountain.

A significant component of a decent stance is stillness and solidness. An extraordinary Meditation Masters counsel is to sit like a mountain, steadfast, stable and furthermore glorious. When you have created arrangement and unwinding in your stance envision you resemble a mountain and attract upon that perception to help keep you straight and steady. Additionally your stance ought to be profoundly established into the earth, grounded and stable. The key here is to stay unaffected very still with the brilliance of colossal a mountain.

4) Find your inside.

An extraordinary reflection pose is adjusted superbly in your focal point of gravity, it ought not be excessively far forward or back not very far left or right. To figure out this focal point of equalization, subsequent to sitting down, rock your chest area tenderly around from side to side and front to back and around until you find that place precisely in the center. This is an incredible method to unwind and relinquish strain as well and when you become acclimated to doing this you figure out you place and after delicately shaking your body normally stops in the middle.

5) Let your body mirror your perspective you are accomplishing in reflection.

To start contemplation practice you are building up an impeccably balance mind, adjusted between not being excessively tense yet in addition not being excessively slack. An incredible contemplation pose mirrors a perspective of being alert and loose simultaneously. The too greatest deterrents to a reasonable and quiet brain is over fervor – thinking excessively and sleepiness or drowsiness. An incredible stance assists with combatting these two obstructions by mirroring the ideal parity of being upstanding and alert and being loose and agreeable.

6) Perfect evenness.

An extraordinary contemplation act is even. Your correct side of your body ought to be an identical representation of the left. This is particularly applicable for knees and shoulders. Change your stance so your knees are at a similar stature and shoulders are superbly even too. Keep your hands in your lap or on your knees however ensure they are a perfect representation of one another. Let somebody snap a photo of you while you are in your reflection act so you can see plainly where the further changes can be made.

The ghost that locked me in my room

Awesome means love it this scary wonderful story

A Poetic Quest

I woke up in the middle of the night, it was around 3 am. My half open eyes, pops wide open on seeing something. But how could that be possible I just couldn’t arrive to the conclusion. I was wide awake now, trying to assimilate what I saw, and couldn’t believe.

I was in my 4^th grade back then, a small kid trying to understand how to live an independent life while being dependent on parents for obvious reasons (common I was a small crazy kid). During lunch breaks in school every one used to narrate their family stories, tell about their home and how they had their own separate private bedrooms. I was fascinated by the thought of having a separate room to myself. I live in a family where we eat together and sleep together (most of Indian families have this custom). We weren’t divided by bedroom…

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Saath de paoge?

Ji sath jarur dunga agar aap sath nibhane ka vada karo

A Poetic Quest

Jo mein tumhe dikhadu

Ki mein waisi nahi dikhti

Jaise tumne sapno me

Saja rakha tha mujhe

Jo mein tumhe dilkhadu

Ki bahut sare nishan hai

Peechle zakhmon ke

Jo abtak bhare hi nahi

Jo mein tumhe dikhadu

Ki meri muskurahat

Kaise mere aankhon tak

Pohochne se inkaar karti hai

Toh batao, kya tum rukoge

Kya tum dheere se mera haath

Pakadke yeh bharosa dila paoge

Ki tum unme se nahi

Jo sheesh mehal saja ke

Uspe pattar pheka karte hai

Toh batao, kya tum rukoge

Aur bina dilasa diye

Jhoot bole, umeede badhaye

Saath de paoge?

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I’ve been quite inactive since long. Why? the only answer I can give is “life takes turns in many unexpected ways”. But I swear I won’t give up. I write. I stop. I write again. I stop again. I still continue writing. 

It’s National Poetry Writing Month. Which day if not this to…

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YOGA FOR BEGINNERS

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Welcome Beginners!

When you’re brand new to yoga, it can feel intimidating and be difficult to know exactly where and how to get started. Our Yoga for Beginners guide was created specifically for you—to give you all the tips, guidelines, and recommendations you will need to start a successful yoga practice. To ensure your success, we highly recommend you read this entire page before attempting any yoga.

What Is Yoga?

aimed at integrating mind, body, and spirit to achieve a state of enlightenment or oneness with the universe. What is normally thought of as “yoga” in the West is really Hatha Yoga, one of the many paths of yoga. The different paths of yoga emphasize different approaches and techniques but ultimately lead to the same goal of unification and enlightenment. Hatha Yoga attains the union of mind-body-spirit through a practice of asanas (yoga postures), pranayama (yoga breathing), mudra (body gestures) and shatkarma (internal cleansing). These physical practices are used to purify the body and cultivate prana (life-force energy). Modern Hatha Yoga does not emphasize many of these esoteric practices and instead focuses more on the physical yoga postures.Regardless of what your goals or intentions are for starting a yoga practice, just the yoga poses themselves is a fantastic form of mental and physical exercise.

Is Yoga Right for You?

Yoga is in no way exclusive—being able to practice yoga does not matter how old you are, how much you weigh, what you do for a living, where you live or what religion you practice. Yoga is accessible for just about everyone.

If you have a medical condition or a recent injury, it can be challenging or dangerous to do certain types of yoga, specific poses, or breathing techniques. Usually, there are alternatives or modifications that can allow you to practice safely, and many common complaints have  yoga specefic theorpy remedies If you are recovring injury or are of poor health, we recommended consulting with a physician or other qualified health care professional before beginning a yoga practice.

While you may feel some intensity in the belly of your muscles while in a yoga pose, you should never feel pain, especially in the joints. A sharp or intense pain is your body’s signal to tell you to stop, back off and take it easy.

If you are out of shape or extremely inflexible, we recommend you begin with a gentle practice until you have built up the strength and flexibility for more challenging sequences. It is always best to error on the side of caution and safety and approach yoga slowly and carefully.

The best way to know if yoga is for you is to give it a try!

How to Practice Yoga

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Yoga is typically performed in bare feet on a sticky yoga mat with optional yoga props. The yoga movements and poses require clothes that can stretch and move freely with your body. You can purchase clothing specifically designed for yoga practice, but you probably can put together a comfortable outfit from your existing wardrobe to get started.

Yoga classes may use additional props, the most common being straps, blocks, blankets, and bolsters. You don’t need to purchase these right away as you can easily substitute these items with scarfs or neckties, a stack of books, and pillows. If you take classes at a yoga studio, they will provide everything that you need.

Your First Yoga Practice

We recommend that you start with a short and straightforward yoga session and slowly build up from there. Once you feel comfortable with a few basic beginner yoga poses, you can incorporate them into a sequence and continue to add more challenging poses. Make sure you learn and follow the essential components of a yoga practice: breathing, meditation, intention, asanas, and relaxation.

How Often Should I Do Yoga?

If you can practice yoga 3 or more times per week, you will see significant improvements in your flexibility, range of motion, strength, balance, inner peace, and overall well being. Ideally, we recommend shorter and more frequent sessions, 20-45 minutes long, and for a total of 3-4 hours spread over several days. Practicing yoga less than this amount will still be beneficial, but you will see smaller improvements over a longer period of time. Like most things, the more time you can dedicate towards it, the more benefits you will receive.

The Benefits of Practicing Yoga

The benefits of yoga are almost endless! Practicing yoga helps build healthy virtues and good values, such as discipline, honesty, devotion, self-inquiry, mindfulness, and non-attachment. Yoga empowers you to make conscious choices toward living a more healthy and fulfilling life. Yoga also helps you.

• Improve and maintain the health of muscles, joints, and organs

• Improve flexibility, strength, stamina, mobility, range of motion, and balance

• Keep your mind healthy and strong

• Reduce stress and promote relaxation• Get a better night’s sleep

• Boost your immune system

• Prevent conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and auto-immune disorders

• Help heal common aches like back pain

• Increase happiness and well being and reduce depression.

How to Improve After Starting

Patience, commitment, repetition, and consistency are the keys to developing and progressing in the practice of yoga. After you’ve found a style, teacher, and yoga studio that works for you, try these tips:

• Commit to a regular schedule of yoga classes or home practice

•Increase Increase the length of your yoga practice and the number of days per week that you practice

• Attend yoga workshops that focus on specific aspects of the yoga practice in more detail

• Journal the effects a consistent yoga practice has on your body, mind, and heart

• Read and study to learn more about yoga

• Find sources of inspiration

• Make yoga friends and get involved in community of yogis

• Adopt a yogic lifestyle

The Best Meditation Posture for You

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The best meditation posture for you is, first and foremost, the one you can settle into and sustain. Most people meditate while seated on a cushion, meditation bench, or chair. When this is not physically possible, practicing while standing or lying down are do-able. Walking meditation is popular too, especially as a way to take a mindful break from sitting.

When we think of the proper meditation posture, images of the Buddha or of a super-supple yoga instructor sitting in a full lotus spring to mind. They always look blissful and comfortable, don’t they? Indeed with adequate training, good knees and a strong back, many people are able to manage the full or half lotus posture. They find that it enhances their ability to remain focused and relaxed during practice. This is because there is a close connection between what’s going on in the body and what’s going on in the mind.

Good news: you don’t have to spend hours in a full lotus to reap the benefits of mindfulness. Whatever posture you choose, here are some pointers that can help optimize your practice.

Watch Your Back

In his guided meditation  how you should sit posture in meditation “Keep your back straight, hands on your thighs, shoulders back so you open your chest, eyes open gazing slightly down, breathing normally.”

Indeed, your back should be as straight as it comfortably can be. Some instructions suggest that you imagine taking hold of some hair towards the back of your scalp and pull it upwards as if a gentle giant were helping straightening your posture (if you have enough hair, that is) from above. See what it feels like to be aligned.

Energy circulates up and down the spine and radiates into the other parts of the body. If you are able to maintain a straight back during meditation, good energy flow is facilitated and this can help reduce agitation and drowsiness.

Points of meditation posture to explore

If you are sitting on the floor – cross-legged, lotus, kneeling posture: there are  It is generally recommended that the knees be slightly lower than the hips, though there are exceptions to the rule. If you are seated on a chair, place your feet flat on the floor without crossing your legs, and if possible sit towards the front of your chair without leaning back.

Your hands can rest on your thighs near the knees, or in your lap, or in the “meditation posture:” one hand settled on the other, with the tips of the thumbs touching. Your shoulders should be open so that the breath flows naturally in and out of your lungs. Tucking the chin in a little bit will promote that alignment we mentioned when we looked at the back.

Breathe through your nose if you can. Your mouth can be closed or just a bit open. By directing your attention to your belly, chest, nostrils, etc., you should be able to feel the flow of your breath as it enters and leaves the body.

Finally, we recommend that you meditate with your eyes open or half open. Many people find that keeping their eyes half-open and gently directing their gaze down in front of them helps quiet the mind and keep it focused.

Our Take Your Seat video will lead you through the main points and get you settled.

Find a meditation rhythm, naturally!

As you focus your attention on the breath, it will naturally find its own rhythm. No need to try to modify it. As you meditate, you may become aware of discomfort in the body or maybe your legs are falling asleep. Feel free to shift and move your meditation posture as necessary but try to maintain awareness. Other times, you’ll find yourself aware of physical sensations that you can work with without moving – that itchy spot on the bridge of your nose or the tension in your jaw or shoulders. See what happens when you take note, relax and release the tension, and go back to the breath.

is all about seeing what works for you. For more iWith the right seat, posture, attitude, and instructions, you’ve got everything you need to get you started and keep you going.

Here are 5 tried and true Buddhist meditation postures

1. The Burmese Position

If you’d like to practice on a cushion or mat (rather than a chair or bench) and want an accessible pose, might be just right for you. the burmese pose Here, you simply sit on a mat, with a cushion if needed, bend your legs with the right foot on the outside, and pull your feet gently towards your pelvis. Ideally the tops of your feet are touching the mat.

2. The Lotus Position

There are basically three types of lotus meditation postures: the quarter lotus, the half lotus and the full lotus.

The quarter lotus position is relatively simple. While sitting on a cushion, pillow or mat, you “cross” your legs by placing your right foot on your left calf. Make sure your knees are lower than your hips. This pose is highly recommended.

The half lotus takes the quarter lotus a step further. Here again, the left foot is close to the pelvis but the right foot is closer to the trunk than with the quarter lotus and rests on the left thigh.

The full lotus is quite challenging until you get the hang of it – which may or may not happen depending on how limber you are. You start with your right foot on your left thigh and then bring your left foot up to your right thigh. It feels pretzel-like at first, but meditators and yoga buffs who are comfortable with this posture find that it naturally supports their alignment and meditation.

3. The Seiza Position

Meditating while kneeling is also an option. In Japan, the seiza pose is a popular Zen Buddhist meditation posture that involves kneeling on a mat. The use of a pillow, cushion or meditation bench under the buttocks helps support the spine and takes pressure off of the knees.

4. Sitting on a chair

There are many reasons why you may prefer sitting on a chair – comfort, flexibility, sore knees, mobility, etc. This posture is comfortable since it doesn’t strain the knees or legs. It’s best to sit up straight rather than lean on the chair since this promotes alignment. Place the feet flat on the floor about a foot or so apart. Here again it’s better if the hips are a bit higher than the thighs and knees, and you shouldn’t be slouching. A thin cushion under the buttocks and/or pillow between the chair and the small of your back can help.

Another advantage of this posture is that you can easily spend a few minutes meditating at your desk, in the subway or on a park bench without attracting undue attention. Curiously, Buddhist texts represent the Buddha of the future seated on a chair. Yes, even on a chair you can experience 

5. Corpse pose

Also called sarvasana, this very relaxing meditation posture is traditionally practiced at the end of a yoga session. You lie flat on your back facing upwards, stretch your hands loosely on the ground, close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. The corpse pose can be helpful for individuals who have back issues. While easy on the body, this position naturally induces drowsiness; it requires an extra effort to maintain vigilance when you’re  The corpse pose can also be used to relax tired muscles between periods of sitting.

Meditation on the Power of Gratitude

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We all know that it’s important to appreciate the good things in our lives and to be thankful for the acts of kindness that come our way. Gratitude is part of being a good person; combined with kindness to others, it makes the world a more decent and livable place. But its power is often underestimated – it’s not just a “nice” emotion. In fact, gratitude influences how we view the world and our place in it. We can develop gratitude through meditation.

Gratitude Connects Us to One Another

The opposite of gratitude is thinking “I’m self-sufficient; I don’t really need anybody else. The world was made for me!” It’s the idea that we’ve gotten where we are by our own actions and merit alone. But this cannot possibly be true. Indeed, it’s a complete denial of reality that diminishes and harms us and actually steals away our joy and happiness.

Actually, none of us are “self-made.” Everything in our life, including our very existence, involves the efforts of others. A sense of gratitude is one way to acknowledge the fact of our interdependence with the world: how we got here and who we are. Gratitude is a kind of wisdom that recognizes reality and leads us to live with truth and with honesty about what’s been given to us.

How do we develop this sense of gratitude? As with most important things, it’s always good to start “local,” that is, personal and small in a way. Before stating “I’m grateful to the whole world,” let’s start with examples in our own lives. Let’s begin by and particularly our mothers. For most of us, that’s a good place to start.

Our mothers bore us in their wombs for nine months, gave birth to us, fed us, cleaned and raised us. They cared for us when we were completely helpless. Our mothers are living examples of people who put us before themselves, and that puts us forever in their debt. Then, we think about our father and other close relatives. We couldn’t have lived and thrived without the kindness and protection of family members who helped us along the way. This contemplation isn’t burdensome – it makes us joyful and open-hearted. We can rejoice because we have opportunities to help others as we were helped.

Our gratitude shouldn’t stop with our families – we can think about everyone else who came into our lives: the friends and teachers and others who have done so much for us over the years. Those who helped us when we started a new job. We might also consider all the strangers—people we don’t know personally—the garbage collectors, police officers and countless others who help our lives run smoothly each day. When we realize how many people we are indebted to, gratitude opens our hearts wider and wider. In a way, the whole earth is an organic system, and when we  with all the sentient beings in it, including animals, our gratitude becomes a meditation on the network of life.

No Difficult People = No Patience—That’s the Equation

But what about bad people, the people who have hurt or wronged us? At first, we may want to exclude them from our practice of gratitude. But if we look closely, we realize we have received a lot from them as well. In fact, difficult people and situations give us the opportunity to devlop strength and resilience If we really pay attention to what we get from difficult people, we begin to recognize the gift of practicing patience—a beautiful virtue upon which so much depends in our lives.

No difficult people, no patience: that’s the equation. If the world were always soft and nurturing, like good mothers, we’d never develop the muscle of patience. Obnoxious people, difficult people, even our enemies, are our helpers too because they teach us to go deeper within ourselves and find our capacity for patience. If we are interested in personal growth and in developing our potential as human beings, we will view tough cases as objects of gratitude. We’ve got a debt to the entire world and all the beings in it, and our only response should be one of heartful of greatitude.

We didn’t singlehandedly create who we are at this moment. Our abilities, skills and knowledge all result from the kindness and actions of others, whether intentional or not. When we start to realize this interdependence, we resolve to share with others the goodness that we have received from all those who have touched our lives in direct or remote ways. To truly be good people, we must return their kindness. In showing us how to be good human beings Meditation on Greatitude profoundly and positively impacts our life experience. It gives us and teaches us to be for others what others have been for us.

This article was adapted from Mind Talk video “Power of Gratitude.” Mind Talks are available through Mindworks 

By reading this article it’s clear that you’re interested in the practice of meditation and its results: making life more joyful and meaningful. And so are we! Mindworks is a non-profit organization with a mission to share authentic meditation guidance to you and our worldwide followers. Click the link below to find out more and discover:

• How to work with mind and appreciate every moment
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” In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.“

On a recent weekend retreat, I experienced some challenging moments. It’s not the first time.

In my life, I’ve gone on more silent retreats than I can count. Two-day, ten-day, 21-day silent meditation retreats. So it wasn’t the first time I encountered some turbulence.

But what was different was the guidance I received from within. It was super simple—be grateful. Say thank you!

Discovering the Power of Gratitude

This simple inner directive changed the way I experienced the retreat. And more importantly, it changed the way I experience my life beyond the retreat.

In today’s show, we explore the life and brain-changing power of gratitude.

What does the science tell us about the benefits of gratitude? What are the psychological, emotional, physiological, and spiritual effects of practicing gratitude every day?

Studies show that gratitude can change your life. Here’s how. It can:

1. Make you happier
2. Reduce your inner fears
3. Strengthen your positive emotions
4. Make you more optimistic
5. Increase your self esteem
6. Improve your sleep

As we buckle up for yet another orbit around the sun, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we’re grateful for…and more importantly, let’s give gratitude its due.

If you look with patience and perseverance, I think you might find that you have more to be grateful for than you originally thought.

Top 10 Benefits of Yoga

Yoga is the suppression of the activities of the mind” – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, c. 4th century CE.

Yoga is a mental and physical practice of exercises, poses, and meditation techniques that originated in ancient India about 5,000 years ago. Many individuals turn to yoga to switch up their fitness routine because it is a great workout and strength builder, but there is so much more to gain from this practice far beyond the physical benefits.

Yoga has been described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as the pursuit of the self, by the self, through the self, which I believe to be completely true, at least, it has been true for me. In Sanskrit, yoga comes from the root word yuj, and means to attach, join, harness, yoke. This is referring to the mind-body connection that’s achieved through regular yoga practice.

Yoga is a spiritual, physical and mental process that connects the mind, body, and soul. Through physical health, mental health and clarity of the self are discovered.

In yoga, you will be challenged, delighted and humbled all at the same time while strengthening the mind and the body.

Like many, I turned to yoga many years ago in pursuit of a new workout, but the benefits I received went far beyond that and these are the reasons that keep me coming back to my mat. I think that consistency is what lead me to achieve some of my wellness goals more so than any specific type of workout could because I actually stick to it. Yoga makes me feel healthy, well and peaceful and that’s what got me hooked.

I have compiled this list of the top 10 benefits of yoga both from my personal experience of 12 years of regular yoga practice and literally scouring hundreds of websites of content to deliver to you.

1. Improves Mental Health and Overall Well-being

Yoga can provide a welcomed escape from the hustle and bustle of busy, everyday life. This alone is relaxing. Even just 10 minutes a day can be enough to de-stress and carry a sense of calm with you throughout your day. Many asanas (yoga poses) are designed specifically to improve relaxation and decrease stress and anxiety, while others (like inversions) create a sense of uplifting energy for your day. Regular yoga practice has been clinically proven to lower the symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression (1).

2. Improves Quality and Quantity of Sleep

A good night’s rest is imperative to overall good health and well being, and many adults aren’t getting enough sleep every night. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults in the United States don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis (2).

Yoga has been proven to improve the quality of sleep and help with insomnia. This is achieved mainly by reducing stress and providing a challenging physical workout. A national survey conducted by Harvard Medical School found that 55% of survey participants who did yoga said that it helped them improve their sleep, and 85% said yoga helped reduce their stress levels (3).

3. Increases Energy

Yoga, like many types of exercise, can increase your daily energy levels. I can personally attest to this, especially when I do yoga first thing in the morning. Unlike more intense forms of exercise that can drain you, yoga tends to be a more gentle way of getting the blood pumping and will release endorphins in the body which increase energy levels for the rest of the day. Backbends and inversion poses can be especially energizing because they stretch and awaken the spine while increasing oxygenated blood flow to the brain.

4. Builds Strength

Yoga is a great example of an effective bodyweight exercise that can build strength just as efficiently (if not more) as lifting weights. Many adults have 150+ pounds of bodyweight that when positioned in various asanas (yoga poses) can be used to build significant strength. Arm balances build powerful upper body strength, while the warrior series can really burn up your lower body. Poses like boat pose and forearm plank are great core strength builders.

5. Increases Flexibility

Want to feel more youthful and get rid of that stiff, achy feeling in your limbs? Many exercise programs neglect the importance of a good stretch. Yoga is a great way to stretch those muscles and make them feel more limber and pliable again.

6. Lowers Blood Pressure

Yoga has been clinically proven to help patients dealing with high blood pressure. According to a study conducted by evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2011, “12 weeks of Iyengar yoga produces clinically meaningful improvements in 24-hour systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (4).

7. Improves Diet

Yoga encourages participants to eat better by making them more mindful and appreciative of what their bodies can do. This awareness and connection to the body naturally makes yogis want to nourish their bodies better and in a more healthful way. You just don’t really feel like downing a burger and fries after a good yoga session…trust me on this one.

8. Improves Immunity

It’s true, doing yoga can actually help the body fight off illness. Yoga practice is known to decrease inflammation in the body by improving circulation, all of which supports and improves the immune system. Also, yoga is known to lower stress hormone levels in the body, and since these hormones impede immunity, yoga’s destressing effect makes both the body and mind more healthful and disease-free.

9. Supports Joint Health

All the stretching and strength-building regular yoga practice achieves will improve joint health. In fact, recent scientific studies of people with various types of arthritis show that regular yoga practice can help reduce joint pain, improve joint flexibility and function in addition to lowering stress and tension to promote better sleep (5).

10. Improves Confidence

Yoga can be a humbling experience, sure, but once you’ve accomplished a pose you’ve been working towards for weeks, months even – that’s a huge boost in confidence. Yoga also encourages body awareness and appreciation which helps yogis feel more confident and comfortable in their own skin.