Guest post by Christian Leeby

Yoga is wholeness. It is a word, practice, and realization that describes our true nature, oneness. Yet the best way to experience the whole is to know the parts, so a deep Yoga practice involves delving into the parts to better know the whole. It’s an artful balance because when you focus on the parts it’s easy to forget that the value lies in bringing that into the larger perspective, and if you only think about the whole then you’ll certainly miss important pieces of the puzzle.

In the big picture this translates to the 8 limbs of Yoga. Many people think that Yoga is just asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing). Now if you’re nodding to yourself thinking “Yes, there’s also meditation” you’re absolutely right, but in addition to those 3 branches there are still 5 more! If that’s news to you then google “8 limbs of Yoga” and you’ll be pleased to see there are plenty of excellent articles describing all 8 steps. In the West many yogis focus only on one or two of the stages mentioned, but when that happens we’re less likely to reach the ultimate goal of Yoga because the whole has been lost to a few of the parts.

If you approach your practice with this understanding, then concentrating on individual parts will give you great gains toward achieving the whole, and one of the best examples of this is how you use your hands in your asana practice.

The hands are extremely unique for many reasons, and how you activate them in your asanas has a profound impact on the results you get. One of the most unusual qualities of the hands is how much you can stretch them. Try it. Open your hand and stretch the fingers apart. Now ask yourself if there’s any other part of your body than you can move with such effect. There isn’t, in fact no part of the body even comes close. This isn’t just interesting, it’s also very useful, because stretching the hands directly relates to what happens in your mind, as well as your whole body.

When you first try my suggestion of stretching your fingers apart, it’s a fairly common action that is not new to you. However, if you take your time and really concentrate, you’ll be surprised to see how much more you can do. The first step is to stretch your fingers apart, which means make as much space between each finger as possible. Look at your hands as you do this, and you’ll see that some fingers have much more distance between them than others. Without loosing any of the space you have between the ones that open easily, make the ones that are closer together move farther apart from each other. Maintain that, don’t loose any of the stretch, and now imagine you can extend each finger from it’s root, where it meets the hand, through it’s tip.

Take your time to get the best extension you can in each finger. Now, without loosing any of those actions, spread the skin of the palm of the hand from the center outwards.

These instructions go from easy and obvious to subtle and not so obvious, but if you concentrate you will realize that although someone looking at your hand might not see you spreading the skin of the palms outwards, you can certainly feel it. It’s a remarkable ability that the hands alone have, to stretch and extend with such physical and subtle action.

If you play with this a bit you’ll see that the mind doesn’t really have to focus much on the easiest movement, stretching the fingers apart, but you can’t do the next step of making more space between the fingers that don’t move apart as easily without focusing. Then to extend the fingers through the tips, your mind has to remain right where it is and become even sharper. To proceed, you simply cannot spread the skin of the palms without further concentration. The hands provide perhaps the best opportunity to see how working the parts of the body with precision demands one-pointed focus, which is at the heart of Yoga and is instrumental in calming the mind that is always jumping here and there.

Physically this practice also has great effects. Straighten your arm and follow the same instructions with the hand. It’s immediately obvious that each action engages the forearm more and more deeply, and with continued practice and you will soon be able to see how the actions of the hands also awaken the upper arms, the shoulders and shoulder blades, and even the upper back and spine. Stretch the hands with precision and intense focus in any straight-armed asana like Downward Facing Dog or Tadasana with the arms overhead and you will begin to see that working this individual part of the body, the hand, has a direct effect on the whole body, as well as the mind!

Focus on the parts to awaken the whole. Your Yoga will go deeper and deeper and move you towards the realization that you are not a part of this world but are actually the whole that is the root of all that is; pure consciousness.

Christian Leeby has been teaching Yoga for over 20 years. He has studied in India with the world’s greatest Yoga master, BKS Iyengar, 5 times. Visit him at www.miracleofyoga.com

By Ann Purcell author of Let Your Soul Sing, Enlightenment is for Everyone

Yoga has become so mainstream today that it is even offered at my family’s tennis and beach club. Almost every time I tell someone I meditate, their immediate response is, “I practice yoga!”

When I ask them about what type of yoga they do, they always mention some type of physical postures, but rarely does their practice involve any type of meditation.

In ancient India, where the tradition of yoga originated, the understanding of yoga (literally union) means the union of mind, intellect, emotions, and body, and union of the individual with the universal. It is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, which serves to unite and integrate all aspects of life into wholeness.

The ultimate goal of yoga is enlightenment whereby one is living unity consciousness—a state in which one realizes the supreme oneness of life in terms in one’s self. In this state, no diversity of life is able to overshadow this essential oneness.

In the ancient Vedic literature, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1.2) say that yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ “Yoga is the complete settling of the activity of the mind.”

After doing an hour of yoga exercise, one does feel more settled and clear, and it is extremely beneficial to the mind, body, and spirit. However, the deepest experience of that complete settling of the mind is the experience of transcendental consciousness—one’s pure silent being.

The settled state of transcendental consciousness unites the mind, intellect, emotions, and body. This state is also an experience of union of the individual with the universal. Empirically, this unity or coherence can be seen in increased brainwave coherence between the left and right hemispheres. Transcendental consciousness can be effortlessly experienced through the technique of Transcendental Meditation.

I say effortlessly, because many of the people who tell me that they do yoga have also tried other meditation techniques, but find it difficult to settle down—they are restless and have lots of thoughts.

The experience of unity and inner peace grows over time, first in meditation and then even in activity, eventually resulting in the permanent experience of unity consciousness. The more your activity is infused with the silent level of the transcendent, or unity, the more smoothly and effortlessly every aspect of your life will flow in the evolutionary direction, leading to greater success and fulfillment. This is the growing state of enlightenment and the true goal of the practice of Yoga!

I recently had the chance to take some online yoga classes called ShapeShifter Yoga. I was a bit skeptical at first because I had previously enjoyed a number of different yoga classes but I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity and joyfulness experienced with this one.

It was developed by an expert Yogini named Kris Fondran who is a veteran yoga instructor and also has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiotherapy. Fondran leads the online yoga videos in an expert way to combine both the health and spiritual aspects of the practice. She says, “everybody can benefit from yoga. It is something that personally I would like to see the whole world do.” I completely agree with this statement. Wouldn’t it be great if they taught us yoga at school?!

I spend a lot of time behind a desk sitting and this can certainly cause some aches and pains along with stiffness in my joints. When I do yoga asanas, the tension disappears and the bliss of life comes back to me within minutes of my practice. It is like magic! So if you’re feeling a bit sluggish or stiff I highly recommend you get down to your local yoga studio for a class to bring you back to life. Or if you are too far away or don’t feel the desire to do yoga in public then doing the Shapeshifter Yoga program may be the solution.

Here is a quote describing the Shapeshifter classes: “A ‘Scientific’ yoga teacher is transforming ‘yoga-haters’ into fitness & flexibility ‘gurus’ — and teaching them age-old secrets that burn fat faster, make them younger, banish stress, and increase flexibility (WITHOUT chanting a single ‘omm’)”

Benefits of Yoga

1) Help relieve aches and pains in the body
2) Fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply
3) Improve your sex life and reach orgasm faster with prolonged ecstasy
4) Increase your confidence and satisfaction with life
5) Tone your entire body and achieve the “yoga butt”
6) Enjoy great calmness and equanimity in the ups and downs of life
7) Experience your true spiritual self – the center of the universe

For more information about the Shapeshifter Online Yoga Classes CLICK HERE.

I’d love to hear what’s your favorite online yoga classes?

Preventing allergies is one of the most important things you must try to do. It is much better to prevent than to cure. As they say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. This is the philosophy of natural healthcare which seeks to bring balance to the body through natural means that don’t have negative side effects. It is definitely true that allergies are tough to deal with, but you might as well prevent them rather than trying to fight a blocked nose, itchy eyes and headaches etc. In this article, you will discover several ways to find relief from allergies that can help prevent those allergies from occurring and coming back trying to ruin your health.

How to prevent allergies

1) Drink Ginger

Ginger is a powerful and natural herb for improving ones digestion which is thought to be the source of allergies. This makes sense because your immune system is directly linked to your digestive fire which has the ability to burn incoming pathogens. Ginger acts to stoke the digestive fire and can be eaten raw before meals or added to the food. If you eat it raw then try cutting a thin slice with a little lemon and salt and chew 10 minutes before the meal. Another option is to make some ginger juice but this require a good blender. Ginger certainly can be great for removing your allergies and preventing them.

2) Plenty of Sleep

Sleep is said to be one of the pillars of health. There is a saying that says, “early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy and wise.” By going to be before 10pm you are aligning yourself with the cycles and rhythms of nature and you will get the deepest rest which will again boost your immunity and help prevent allergies. Getting enough rest leads to strength, health and the feeling of a refreshed and clear mind.

3) Warm showers

It is proven from many people that a nice relaxing warm shower can help increase chances of going to sleep easier and not having the sniffles so often. Hot water can help clear up your sinuses and guide your nose to breath correctly. Warm showers should not be taken when you already have a strong cold, but when it is just starting out, then get into the shower right away.

Preventing allergies from taking place is very easy once you have a solid baseline of several preventive remedies. It is important that you keep yourself active and moving as much as you possibly can. Your body will be much stronger when you exercise since it will help strengthen up your immune system. It is wonderful how well your body can feel better through simple exercise and using the tips above. They may not give you instant results, but they are definitely powerful. Use the tips above to help increase your chances of preventing those allergies.

What tips do you have for preventing allergies?

The term enlightenment, in the simplest definition, refers to the act of fully comprehending one’s condition, for the purpose of gaining an understanding of their sense of self. Enlightenment is a difficult concept or term to assign a concrete definition, since it can define virtually most states of being aware of one’s self, across both religious and non-religious practices.

Enlightenment is commonly used in Western cultures in religious contexts. As an example, it accurately translates many Buddhist concepts and terms, such as kensho, botable bodhi and satori. Other terms that relate enlightenment to Asian religions include Kevala Jnana in Jainism and moksha in Hinduism.

In regards to an individual, enlightenment itself can represent the sudden fostering of light in a place where darkness once resonated. It represents the feeling an individual may experience when becoming aware of themselves in a way they haven’t before. To become enlightened implies that one understands the conditioning of their spirit, through the absorption of concepts that penetrate their soul and mind in an evocative manner.

Although it’s not likely that many will achieve total enlightenment throughout their lifetimes, they can alternatively attain a form of enlightenment through seeking knowledge; the act of being open to seeking and absorbing that aforementioned knowledge can help an individual become more aware of themselves, and they’ll eventually take that information and carry it within them for the remainder of their lives.

There are as many ways to achieve enlightenment as there are existing concepts relating to the term. The most common way for many to seek enlightenment involves the art of meditation and yoga. Meditation itself is the act of training the mind to accept or retain a certain state of consciousness that benefits someone’s state of being.

Several forms of meditation exist, such as more strict and controlled practices to casual and easy to adapt versions of the art. Meditation must be practiced regularly, in order to allow one to gain and develop unconscious customary behaviors that may produce positive effects on one’s physical and mental well being. As an example, a person can meditate for at least 15 minutes of their day and immediately see results after a continued regime over a period of a few months.

There isn’t, however, a single and definitive resource to help one achieve total spiritual enlightenment. The path for many to achieve enlightenment depends on their own personal goals and what they hope to realize within themselves, so they can gain a sense of peace they’ve never achieved before.

There are many ways to live a life of Sustainable Living, and one of the healthiest ways is through learning the benefits of yoga. Unlike competitive and high-impact sports, yoga centers around the individual, finding the center of one’s being, and about living in in the moment so that we might appreciate each of them individually. The focus and concentration on the movements of your body during yoga are connected to the idea of sustainability in terms of both physical and emotional endurance, how we use energy, and our connection with the natural world.

Yoga can teach us a great deal about the many different facets of sustainability. In ecological terms, sustainability refers to using energy, land, and food and water sources on the planet in a way that will make them last. As human beings, we are responsible for maintaining these resources for both the planet’s greater good and for future generations. If we do not focus on ways to conserve what is important on the only planet that we have, then the human race can no longer thrive. We must learn to conserve, recycle, and maintain all of our resources in a healthy manner so that the earth can continue to thrive. By wasting our resources, there is no chance for a long-term plan of sustainability. Yoga can teach us all this, but in reference to our bodies. Focused movements, precise movements that conserve energy, and a concentration on keeping your body healthy for the long term is another form of sustainability that anyone can learn.

Sustainable living through yoga allows you to focus on the energy that your body produces, how to use it to its best advantage, and how introducing healthy foods and clean water into your system is part of a long-term plan to keep yourself healthy. Think of your body as its own self-contained planet—if you squander your energy and pollute your arteries with fat and your lungs with toxins, how long can you sustain their resources? Just as we only have one Earth on which to live, you only have one body, and yoga can help you stay healthy so that you can sustain it for years to come. By learning the movements of yoga, which include stretching, holding your body in one position, and finding your center, you will better be able to focus not on winning the game, but achieving goals that are much more long-term.

Chakra meditation is the fundamental way to guide and focus your body’s energy. Of the people who have tried meditation, many will relate to a regularly experienced problem, that of sustaining concentration. Picture yourself relaxed in a peaceful place – maybe an isolated acre of meadow in the forest or a quiet, solitary room somewhere. You might light incense or candles, and eventually close your eyes, ready to feel the feeling of serenity engulfing your body. For a short time you could be successful, experiencing the joyful calm of an uncomplicated mind, and a spirit at rest. As you continue your meditation practice, your mind might begin to wander. Worry, plans, and thoughts for the tomorrow can sometimes distract, without your realizing. Before you know it, you are creating a mental list and reminding yourself of a doctor appointment next week; you have lost the peaceful concentration necessary to maintain meditation. If you’d like to get the better of this hurdle and know the peace of meditation in your every day life, try this simple method.

As a central tenet of chakra balance, meditation is an essential excercise. If you would like to get started accessing the balancing power of meditation, you ought to learn to focus your imagination towards your primary problem. Your seven chakra centers influence the various functions of your physical body ; including physical, emotional, mental functions. When these chakras are blocked or inactive, this can contribute to the development of emotional difficulty. If there is a particular aspect of your life that you would like to fix? Chakra meditation can help you address it. As an example, meditating on the Heart Chakra can guide you to overcome situations with relationships and romance.

For the uninitiated, meditating is especially comfortable with sound; Tibetan singing bowls are a natural sound for chakra balancing, and binaural beat meditations gently eases your mind of thoughts, letting you to focus on sensing the streams of energy flowing through your chakras as you learn meditation, instead of constantly needing to cleanse your mind of extraneous thoughts. The use of chakra meditation is about fostering your own beneficial energy, and healing the chakras so this positive energy can flow openly through your body.

If you’re into meditation, check out this article – Meditation and the Five Senses. It’s called an Isolation Tank, and it’s changing the way people meditate. They get into deeper meditations, faster. So cool!

There are so many different yoga techniques that can be used today. Yoga has been around for a long time, and many people use yoga for different benefits. Yoga is one of the best ways to keep healthy and stay strong. There are actually over a 100 different schools of yoga, but they do have some of the most well known types. Hatha Yoga is actually one of the most common forms of yoga techniques today. This type of yoga is what most associate with yoga practice. Some other yoga techniques today are raja yoga, jnana yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, tantra yoga, kashmir shaivism and of course hand yoga. These are all very common and many people still practice these today. One thing that you must remember is that yoga techniques have transformed so much from what it used to be stereotyped as.

Yoga Techniques – Questions.

If you have any questions, you should definitely consider doing some of your own research, if you would like to get involved with yoga, or try out some new techniques. Once you have mastered some of the most basic techniques, you will then be able to move on to other techniques that require much ability and strength. They may be a little bit more challenging, but they are all worth it in the end, depending on the type of results you are trying to get out of them.

Yoga Techniques – Conclusion.

It is highly important to choose the right type of technique based on your endurance as well as your strength level. You can always take yoga classes or even find a yoga video that you can perform with. Those can be purchased online as well. You can read about them just to see if they meet up to your expectations before you even buy them. If you have any questions, then you can ask someone who knows yoga from front to back. There are many things that you can learn from yoga, and the techniques that come with it. It is always best to start off with the most basic techniques if you are someone who is new to yoga, then advance to the more complicated ones.

The chakras are energy centers within our bodies and aura, and the Sanskrit word means “spinning wheel of energy”. There are seven main chakras receiving and transmiting energy, and each chakra is associated and connected with a different part of the body. Each chakra is positioned at a major endocrine gland, and a nerve bundle called a plexus. Each chakra has a different colour, and different gem stones and crystals can be connected with each chakra. Understanding and knowing how to use your chakras can promote spiritual, emotional and physical health, and can bestow energy to your manifestational work.

Modern Quantum science only now realizing what the ancient holy men and magicians have told us for millenia; that everything in our Cosmos, including you, is in a constant state of vibration. Everything has a optimum range of vibration, and that range is known as a resonance. Inner balance equals resonance. Sound is a basic form of vibration, and in order to use sound to heal, you must acknowledge that every cell and organ in your body emits and absorbs sound, and has a exact resonance. A very direct and profound way to influence the resonance within the cells of your body with sound, is by using Chakra balancing sounds.

Feelings and intellectual states also have particular resonance frequencies; this is the evolutionary power behind spiritual music, prayer and mantras. Emotions and intellectual states are also connected to the exact chakra balancing frequencies. When we expose a Chakra to it’s particular Chakra balancing frequency long enough, we will achieve Chakra balance; and when your Chakras are in Chakra balance, so is the rest of you, mind, body and soul.

Tibetan singing bowls are useful for meditation and to trigger trance states. Tibetan singing bowls are the subject of many legends and speculation. Some feel they were used only for meditation, while a few believe they were tools for the magical transformation of self, and of matter. I believe both theories, and that is why I use Chakra balancing Tibetan singing bowls, blended with the organic sounds of the ocean’s waves, to produce the mystical and transformative binaural beat Chakra healing sound MP3s and CDs. The primal sound is unrivaled for achieving a meditative state, and by using Tibetan singing bowls attuned to Chakra sounds, we can evoke a deep transformation of the mind, body and soul.

Khth today released Śānti 1.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. This app sets itself apart from other meditation aids by offering more options and generating binaural beats in real time, instead of using the same, pre-recorded tones over and over. Śānti 1.0 lets users choose the length of their session, and automatically modulates the differential of the tones’ frequencies throughout the session.

San José, Costa Rica- Announcing that khth, the developer of Śānti, has released the latest update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. Śānti 1.0 sets itself apart from other meditation aids by offering more options and generating binaural beats in real time, instead of using the same, pre-recorded tones over and over. Śānti 1.0 lets users choose the length of their session, and automatically modulates the differential of the tones’ frequencies throughout the session. People practice meditation Sydney, New York, London and everywhere in between.

Śānti 1.0 Features Include:

• Deep Meditation is the standard meditation program
• Quick Rest helps refresh and energize users
• Progressive Meditation guides the user into deeper and deeper meditative states
• Timer lets users choose the duration of their session
• Binaural tones generated in real time, not pre-recorded

Śānti 1.0 generates binaural beats in real time, which gives this app the ability to continuously change the frequency throughout the duration of each meditation session. The user simply chooses from the 3 available programs, sets the timer, and lets the app guide them into progressively deeper states of meditation.

The Deep Meditation feature is similar to other apps, but only on the surface. The changing tone frequencies ensure that users are guided into deeper and deeper meditative states for the chosen duration of their session. Regular use of this feature can leave users feeling a sense of calm and instill deep relaxation and a tranquil mind.

The Quick Rest program takes users into deep meditation, then, at the end of the session, returns them to their day fully energized and ready to go. This can be done in as little as 10 or 15 minutes, which makes this feature a ideal way to end a lunch break and come back feeling great.

The Progressive Meditation feature helps users relax at bedtime, get more restful sleep, and reduce stress in their lives. When used just before bedtime, users are guided into progressively deeper states of meditation and relaxation as they drift off for the night. As with the other programs in this app, the ever changing binaural beats ensure the users feels the full benefit of their meditation.

About khth
Khth is a software development firm located in Costa Rica. Their goal is to create utility apps that help users to improve their lives.

Device Requirements:

• iPhone 4 and later, iPod touch 3rd and 4th Generation and iPad
• Requires iPhone OS 5.0 or later
• 0.2 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Śānti 1.0 is only $1.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Utilities, Health category or CLICK HERE.

Win a promocode by following @ZantiApp and tweeting this #zantipromo. 3 winners will be drawn on Monday the 30th of April.

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CONTACT
Giancarlo Palavicini
Media Contact for khth
zanti+press@kasthor.com