PROPER YOGIC ASANA S & GENERAL EXERCISES, PRANAYAMA AND MEDITATION:
Many people throughout the World know the importance of Yoga and Meditation for good health, personal and spiritual growth. Yoga has many benefits - physiological, mental and spiritual.Yogic Asanas are a great physical fitness programme to build strength, involving stretching, strengthening, and elongating the spine for proper alignment of the vertebrae and keeping it straight and flexible, lowering blood pressure, increasing cardio-vascular health, increasing lung capacityby breathing techniques and relaxation, releasing tension and stress, and learning to relax and enjoy life, Meditation - to calm the mind, bring emotional balance, brings mental clarity and equipoise, focus and concentration, transforming the life and Spiritual fulfillment and connect with your Soul. It develops your Charisma. CHARISMA MATTERS! CHARISMA IS SYMBOLIC INFLUENCE ROOTED IN VALUES AND EMOTIONS.
Charisma and Personal magnetism is developed through Yoga, Meditation, Service, Satsang (inspiring talks), achieving higher Degree of concentrations, Sincerity and Self Control. If you pay proper attention to the laws and methods, each one of you can grow and strengthen your personality. There are laws which are behind the physical laws.
Yoga is not only for people living a reclusive life but for everyone, regardless of age or religion.
Some of the several benefits of YOGA: Builds Strength, makes the nerves and muscles stronger, Creates Stamina, Gains Balance and Agility, Improves Flexibility, Improves Health, Prevents Osteoporosis, Parkinson’s, Heart Attacks, Asthma, Balances the Endocrine system, helps with symptoms of Menopause, PMS, Thyroid, Nocturnal Emissions.
Asanas are extremely essential for good health. Yoga helps you realise that you are more than this body and mind. It is up to you how you incorporate this into your lifestyle. There is nothing better you can do to yourself than make a commitment for practicing Yoga, Meditation and regulated breathing. Complete YOGA is Asanas, Pranayama, Exercises, Postures and Breathing. Yoga, which rids one of woe, is accomplished only by him who regulates his diet and performsgood actions for the welfare of all and who is regulated in sleep and wakefulness and looks upon the joys and sorrows equally – such a Yogi is deemed to be the highest ideal. Yoga will lead to concentration of mind, perfection, self-realization and eternal bliss. There are approximately 570 exercises in Yoga but if you can do and master the ones we are explaining below, any other Yoga Exercise or Pose will be easy for you. These are essential and good enough for a healthy life and do not take much time so should be practiced daily.
SURYA NAMASKAR (Surya Salutation) :
Surya Namaskar is a Yoga based exercise which is complete and unique in every sense. Surya (Sun) is the source of light, heat and knowledge. You get the benefit of Yogic Exercise and Pranayam for getting Strength, Courage and Dynamism. Surya Namaskar with exercise and mantras will enable you to achieve Good Health, a High Level of Concentration, Balanced Mind, Develop Strength, Emotional Control and it has several other benefits. It can actually tone up everything. With each exercise there is a Mantra. Every Mantra has its own subtle benefit as it generates minute vibrations to give you connection with your soul and spiritual uplift. Surya Namaskar consists of 12 steps, with twelve mantras. The Chanting of Mantras with Omkar, Bija and names and inhaling and exhaling (pranayam)is essential to giving complete benefit to the practitioner of Surya Namaskar.
ASANAS:
i) SHASHAANK AASANA:
Ideal for every child. It helps curb aggression and channel their Energies and Forces to Developing Wisdom. This Asana helps develop the Pineal Gland and suppress the Adrenal Gland, resulting in controlling anger and relief from Sciatica Pain. This is very good for people who are suffering from depression and have suicidal tendencies. One must practice this aasan, every two hourly at the time of stress, depression and suicidal tendencies, contracting the anus. This will also help women to recover faster after giving birth.
ii) BHUJANG-AASAN :
This helps to make the entire body strong, curing asthma, intestinal problems, improving the power of lungs; helps remove the stiffness in spine and muscles of the back and neck. In this aasan, focus should be at the place of third eye. This is very helpful for women suffering from problems related to menstrual cycle.
iii) CHAKRASAN:
It reduces Body fat and increases height of children. It makes whole body flexible and helps you gain power in the back bones and muscles. It is also very good for stomach problems. This is very useful if you wish to remove excess fat from your body. Focus on Navel (Manipur Chakra). BREATHING: Normal and Deep.
iv) VAJRASANA:
The Asana of Strength. It strengthens the digestive and Nervous System and cures almost all stomach disorders. Concentration at the anus (Mooladhara Chakra). Deep inhalation-exhalation. It strengthens back, feet, knees and prevents night fall. This is very useful for women too. This reduces stress and negativity. This is very good for increasing concentration and happiness.
v) TAARAASAN:
Taaraasan
Taaraasan r educes intro-abdominal Pressure. It activates your pineal gland, strengthens the shoulders and legs. It is very good especially for students as it prevents night fall and improves concentration and balance. Must be practiced for two to three minutes, three times a day.
vi) SARVAANG-AASAN :
This aasan is extremely beneficial for students suffering from memory loss due to loss of seminal energy due to night fall. This will help relieve headache, constipation, stops graying of hair and nocturnal emissions. It improves functioning of vital organs, glands, nerves and meridians. This aasan is extremely beneficial for the thyroid. This aasan should be done with focusing on glottis region. Breathing should be long while inhaling & exhaling without any force. Persons with extremely weak heart and hyper thyroid should start taking this after advice from Yoga Guru.
vii) KATIPINDMARDAN-AASAN :
This particular aasan is very useful for improving power of muscles of back, it makes the back very flexible, it strengthens kidney. Concentration on Swadishthaan Chakra. This aasan cures negativity, diabetes, gastric problems and prevents kidney stones also. This must be avoided during menstrual cycle and during pregnancy.
viii) PAADPASHIMOTAN-AASAN:
This is the ultimate aasan. If one masters this aasan, you will never have problems of bones like sciatica, slip discs, constipation, premature graying of hair, appendix, prevents growth of bone below ankle making it difficult to walk and makes you have excellent memory as this vitalizes brain,. This should be avoided if a person is already suffering from Sciatica or Slip Disc. After doing Paadpashmotaan-aasan, one must eat one raw lady finger.
ix) SHAV-AASAN:
One must do this after finishing Yogic exercises. It relaxes the nerves, muscles and brain as you stop thinking. You gain energy after shav-aasan as it removes fatigue and revitalized the entire body. It makes you stress free.
PRANAYAM &BREATHING:
Everything in this world is made of Prana or the vital force or Life force or Qi. Prana is the creator, conductor and preserver of our body. The process, by which vitality of Prana/Qi is enhanced, is called Pranayam. Regular Breathing puts the body into a Harmonious Condition. Pranayam will give you Good Health, ensure Vitality, and maintain Physical Equilibrium and generally improve your condition. We continuously gain energy through breathing. Regular Systematic Regular Deep Breathing helps bring your Mind under your control. Deep Breathing exercises are perfectly safe and give good health. They regulate the mind. In training the mind, the first step is breathing exercises. Pranayam and Deep Regulated Breathing increases your Concentration level. Tribandh during Pranayam is very important: (i) Mool Bandh (Contracting the Anus); (ii) Udiyaan Bandh (Fly up Lock); (iii) Jalandhar Bandh (Glottis Lock)
i) BRAAHMARI PRANAYAM: It h elps increase Memory power and concentration. While sitting, close your eyes and put both index fingers your into both ears (not pressing too hard) Take a deep breath and chant Mmmmmmm…… minimum 10 times for best results. One can do it for 15–30 minutes. Tap the tummy while exhaling it hitting at the base of the lungs in the rib cage.
ii) ANULOMA-VILOMA (ALTERNATE NOSTRIL) PRANAYAM: This is the simplest and best Pranayam. A tremendous gain on the health front and with regular practice over a period of time it improves eyesight and relieves mental tension. Pessimism is replaced by optimism. This will cure Ashtma completely in 3–6 months, will never have headache. This is very important for improving eyesight.
Sit on a non-conductive Cloth or blanket or Yoga Mat in Sukhaasan, Siddhaasan or Padmaasan and sit upright, your hips and head in straight line. Relax your body with deep inhalations and exhalations through the nose.
Exhale completely through both nostrils. With your fingers, close the right nostril and slowly take a deep breath in through the left nostril. Hold the breath as long as possible. Then close the left nostril and exhale slowly through the right nostril and hold the breath out for as long as possible. Now inhale through the right nostril, hold it for some time and then exhale slowly through the left nostril. After completely exhaling, hold your breath out for some time. This entire process is one Pranayam.
The ratio of the duration of Inhalation: holding the breathe inside: exhaling: keeping the breathe outside should be 1:4:2:2 respectively e.g. ideally 5:20:10:10 seconds. Take breathe in 5 seconds, hold inside for 20 seconds, exhale in 10 seconds and keep the breathe outside (empty the stomach of breathe) for 10 seconds is ONE PRANAYAM. 5–10 Pranayams are good enough for excellent results.
iii) KAPAALBHAATI PRANAYAM: Kapaalbhaati is a powerful pranayaam for most stomach disorders and for vital force and transference of all energy towards the brain for very sharp brain. Inhale deeply and then exhale with fast 60 strokes feeling the sensations till the navel region. After 60 strokes, Hold the breath out for about 30 seconds to one minute and then inhale once again and repeat the process three to five times. Practitioner of pranayam, especially Kapaalbhaati must drink milk, never walk bare foot. If you feel hyperacidity, then it should be avoided. It should be immediately discontinued as few women may face disturbances during menstrual cycle.
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS:
Pranayam, Asanas and Meditation are beneficial in the morning after having bath and on an empty stomach, sitting either in Siddhasana or Sukhasana, facing east or north on a non-conductive Surface all the time. A Yoga Mat or a Blanket is useful for Yoga. Practitioner of Yoga and Meditation should avoid sitting on any surface without a non-conductive cloth to protect your internal energygetting it earthed.They should be practiced in a clean and airy room or early morning facing rising sun to get maximum benefits.
Aasans should be performed half an hour before meals or 2.5 hrs after meals. One must sit erect with head, trunk and hips in a straight line. The Spine should be free and the weight of the body should be supported by the ribs. There should be no jerks during theprocess.
Women should avoid doing Yoga and chanting of Mantras during 5 days menstrual periods.
Chanting “
” repeatedly 10 times helps in Meditation.
Observing Silence and Keeping Calm and Quiet for a day improves meditation. YOGA means a discipline of the Mind and The Body for preparing it for Self Realisation.
YOGA -THE UNION; IT IS THE UNION OF ALL EXISTENCE.
CONCENTRATION:
We have seen that Children and Youths have a low concentration span these days. Like all muscles in the body, the brain must function at its optimum. Eating a healthy diet and doing plenty of exercise may keep you physically fit but your mind can still be disturbed. You must keep your mind under control so that it gives high level of performance. If you wish to enhance your performance, then you will have to enhance your power of concentration. Excellent achievements in Life are due to extremely high level of concentration. Good Concentration will get you Perfect Control of your senses and is the key to happiness. It has been discovered medically that the pineal gland in children under the age of twelve, is soft and malleable, like clay. In humans, over the age 12, the pineal gland is as hard as a rock. The pineal gland is the seat of Spiritual Wisdom. We have to have focus to go beyond confusion and rise to a decisive level. We should be working towards Inner Happiness,Joy and Peace. If you wish to achieve a high level of concentration then you must practice Brahmacharya/ Celibacy.
To Increase Concentration: Sit on a comfortable Asana, Sukhaasan, Siddhaasan or Padmaasan and sit upright, your hips and head in straight line. Relax your body with deep inhalations and exhalations through the nose.
Focusing of vision at one point without blinking helps in increasing Concentration. Paste a white paper on Card Board of 1’ X 1 ’. Draw a Black colour circle of about 1 cm at the centre of the board. Now at the centre of Black circle, have a yellow spot/dot of 1 mm. Focusing at the yellow spot for about 5–30 minutes every day helps achieve great levels of concentration.
On full moon day, poornima, or every day, focus on the moon for about 30 minutes without blinking eyes while sitting on a chair or on the floor cross legged with a mat below. This will improve your eyesight, increase concentration and will give you control over your body and emotions.
Sit cross-legged with folded hands (namaskaar position). Keep looking at the tip, counting the breath at least 108 times without interruption. If interrupted, start again from 0.
MEDITATION & MANTRAS:
Many people know the importance of Meditation for personal and spiritual growth. Successful Meditation calms the mind, makes the mind quieter and helps you gain absolute concentration. It gives you Happiness, and Freedom. Successful Meditation three times a day increases your power of concentration; boosts your memory power, refreshes your brain to focus on the work at hand and help strengthen your problem-solving capabilities to face life’s challenges in today’s cut throat competition. Meditation helps you to stay calm, focused and balanced for greater effectiveness, regardless of external events and circumstances. It is our fervent desire that readers make it part of their Daily Routine, to counter-balance our intensely active lives. You can choose Meditation and Mantras to help you with anything, to gain Health, High Levels of Concentration, Success, Happiness, Power of Gratitude, Love for others, Peace, Bliss, Healing others, Dynamic Personality, to change your life for the better and for enlightenment, Spiritual Development and Self-Realisation.
According to Vedic Rishis, Mantras are most important for Meditation and Spirituality and they can heal too. Saints having power to ‘Shaktipaat’ for initiation to his disciple is a “Sadguru”. ‘Shaktipaat’ awakens the ‘Kundalini Powers’ in the disciple. Healing with mantras happens naturally within the person performing, and also the listener. Meditation with Mantras on Tulsi Beads, Rudraksha Beads or other Beads will awaken the Kundalini, attract spiritual powers and will bring a state of calmness, intuition, relaxation from physical, mental and emotional stress, good health and a happy life. All hidden conflicts vanish and negativity is removed.
Keep in Mind that you will not achieve success in Meditation nor will you get the desired results from Mantras if you are not practicing the laws of Brahmacharya.
HARI
OR HARI
is the healing mantra. The symbol AUM visually consists of three curves, one semicircle, and a dot. The large bottom curve symbolizes the waking state: A; The middle curve signifies the dreaming state: U. The upper curve denotes the state of deep sleep or dreamless state: M. The dot signifies the fourth state of consciousness, Turiya. ‘
’ is an ancient “ SANSKRIT” word that was first felt by vedic rishis while they entered in to deep Meditative State- “SAMAADHI”. HARI
means creation, preservation and destruction. Whenever we chant ‘HARI
’ mantra 10 times with deep breath, inhalations and exhalation, this provides us with strength, health, positivity, compassion, vairagya. It also makes us able to face and tackle difficulties with courage. Hari, the God takes away our impurities, negativities, errors, fear, anger that may bring about sorrow and disease.
Every religion has its own Mantra; you can observe Christians and especially Muslims using beads to chant their own Mantras. Even in movies you may have seen Priests chanting Mantras to help people suffering from attacks by Ghosts or demons by performing rituals. This practice is ancient and is part of the belief system of many cultures and religions. This is practiced when some dangerous changes in the behavior and physical make up is noticed.
The best time to experience the power of Mantras is 2 hours before sunrise. At this time worldly vibrations and that of negative people are less. At this time charged ions are in plenty and ozone level is high. Even the mind is too calm to think of anything else. Doing Meditation with Mantra Chanting can also be done between 11.45 a.m to 12.15 Noon, 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm. More you do, more beneficial it will be.
Meditation with Mantras means that you surrender to God, to the cosmic healing forces. Before setting out to heal others, put the patient at ease, have compassion for him, allow him to accept you as healer, chant Mantras, and this will give you cosmic vibrations to heal, attracting the forces of God of Mantras and then channel them towards the person that you are trying to heal or even to heal yourself. Vibrations flow from tips of your fingers or the palms; you may hold the hands above the patient to heal. You can also open the doors of your heart by filling it with compassion and let it flow through. With this vibration flows your own love. It is evidence of your willingness to help.
We attract spiritual forces and ‘A’ powerful Aura, one particular aspect of Divine Light is developed and surrounds the practitioner of Meditation with Mantra (Awakening the Kundalini). With spiritual powers obtained, we offer ourselves as a channel to the powers of God to heal people and help people, but may be not for everyone. Much will depend upon the frame of mind of the patient. The influence of such healing can be rejected by one who is expecting to receive. This does not happen in the conscious mind but in the unconscious mind that the idea is unworthy or of being too much of a sinner to expect forgiveness. Sometimes healing is expected too quickly and we give up before it can take place. Not all healing can or should be instantaneous.
Confidence will come with success, but do not become over-confident and think that healing will always take place. Mantras can overcome anything if the person recites it or receives as a paying off of Karma, with trust in forgiveness and a readiness to alter the course of his or her life, dedicating it to the service of God. However, even whenhealing has taken place, the sickness may return with greater force if the person who was healed does not change a selfish, egoistic, greedy or hurtful way of life towards others. Gratitude to God must be shown in charity or selfless service to Gurudev, Parents, men of wisdom and others.
Whenever we chant Mantras, it definitely affects and changes the patient’s state of mind. We can relax a person and gently probe into the depths of the Soul or the Mind to find out what resistance we may have to deal with. We must help people believe that God or the Divine can be trusted, and we have many good reasons for this trust. Mantras and Meditation help develop empathy, an attitude of gratitude, compassion and love for others.
MEDHA SHAKTI:
Medha is high Level of Memory Power gained through Yogic exercises, Meditation, Pranayam and Mantras. If this faculty is developed then you can quickly grasp any subject in this world and retain it in memory till the time you live. It is an excellent intellectual faculty, gives you intuition and helps create new ideas for human development.
Millions of people around the world altogether ignore their greatest treasure – their brain. With some 60 billion memory cells the brain is capable of everything. To match the brains remarkable memory storage and computing power, it would require a machine equivalent to a 150 stor ey building which would need an entire city of people to maintain and operate it. It would cost billions more than any space programme to date; and it would still be unable to produce one single creative idea.
The human Brain is capable of creating at least 100 ideas every day. The greatest gift the human race has ever received is our Brain. The greatest tragedy is in the infrequency with which we use it. Scientists tell us that we use less than 10% of its available powers.
The Brain can store immense quantities of data. But it is equally important to retrieve that information when needed. This faculty is to be developed through Pranayam, Meditation, Mantras, Ayurvedic Herbs, Diet, Acupressure & Brahmacharya. This will boost your power to read, comprehend, learn and develop intuition.
FASTING:
From time immemorial, People in India have been observing fasts at least once a month for Good Health and Spirituality. Fasting on any day will help but Ekadashi has immense importance in India. During fasting you should only eat Fruits, especially Grapes and Raisins. Milk is very good on fasting day. You must definitely avoid Tea, Coffee, Curd, Cold Drinks, Ice Creams, Banana, Sabudaana Kheer, tobacco, alcohol or any heavy stuff on any fasting day.
Fasting on Ekadashi is beneficial due to atmospheric pressure on the 11th day in the moon cycle, i.e. from the new moon day and also from the full moon day. Fasting on Ekadashi will not affect the body’s system as feeling hungry is minimum on that particular day. So it is advisable to observe fasting only on Ekadashi before Poornima day (full moon) once a month for purification and relaxation of the body and mind, refreshing the whole body mechanism, detoxification of the body, sharpening the brain, purification of the Spirit, Mind and the Soul. Fasting is helpful in balancing our life.
Fasting on Ekadashi is very conducive to those seeking the Spiritual Path, Meditation & Jap. Fasting on both Ekadashis gives mental peace and awakens the Soul for Self-Realisation.
CONTROL SENSE ORGANS FOR CLEAR THINKING:
The willingness and ability to discipline yourself is critical for success, health, a happy life and to always have clarity of life. Persons with a lack of clear thinking are unhappy and floundering. They have a very-very limited sense of direction, sometimes no direction at all. 80–90% of all unhappiness, hostility, violence, psychosomatic problems and illness, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, mental stress is caused by people who have no sense of direction even though they may be educated. They don’t know where they are going. It is therefore extremely important to be clear what it is that you want, where you are going and clear about the results that you want in your life. Action without thinking is the major cause of failure in life and how bad Karmic afflictions are earned. If you are fascinated or feel happy in criticizing others or in insulting others, in harming others, create an ill will towards others, have destructive mind then you may not like the consequences. Listen to your intuition and have the attitude of gratitude and let it go.
SOLITUDE (VOLUNTARY SOLITARY CONFINEMENT) (EKANT) :
Solitary confinement can be the worst kind punishment and can lead to complete breakdown and self mutilation because social connection is a basic of life. We all must have Social connection, meaningful relationships and social bonding with others, not superficially or by superiority complex by displaying wealth or power etc. Chronic disease spreads much faster in humans who live alone and do not have friends or relatives. But Solitude is a gift and blessing and is very important for Practitioners of Yoga and Meditation and for people who wish to achieve glory. Loneliness is suffering, and Solitude is relaxing. Loneliness is fear, and Solitude is Peace. The life is nothing but a journey from loneliness to Solitude!
Solitude is the practice of living for 22–24 hours a day, without speaking a single word, virtually free of human contact, for periods of time ranging from days to decades. One must stay alone, away from contact with relatives and friends for at least one month a year. This is the time for you to look within. This will help you develop a high level of will power too that gets you respect and love from others. This gives you space and break to think what more can be done for the humanity. Great writers go to remote places or hill stations to write marvelous books. Great scientists did all their discoveries in solitude. Great Philosophers, Saints, Sadgurus or People with Godly powers spent several years free of human contact for Years. It is very healthy to spend some time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not to be defined by another person. There are times when alone is the best place to be. Staying alone in Ekant (Solitude) doesn’t mean that you are lonely, it means you are cherishing the quality time with yourself. Staying in Ekant (Solitude) doesn’t mean that you are alone, you are in Union with God and it means that you are strong enough to handle things all by yourself. Spending time in Ekant (Solitude) can do wonders for your peace of mind and developing your will power. Mingle often with the people with wisdom/saints to keep your soul nourished. If one doesn’t speak or speak only the truth for seven years at a stretch will have Godly super powers.