WE ARE EXCITED AND HAPPY TO SHARE THE FUN AT YOGA MARRAKECH HEALING RETREAT CENTER ON SATURDAY FEB 11 AT 6PM WE PERFORM 45 SUN SALUTES OR NEARLY AN HOUR WORTH OF FLOWING BREATHING SWEATING HEATING MOVING WITH INDIAN MANTRA MUSIC AND HUNDREDS OF CANDLES THIS IS AN EVENT NOT TO MISS ESP IF YOU [...]

YOGA MARRAKECH  IS TEACHING ANOTHER WORKSHOP SUNDAY FEB 19 FROM 8H30 TO 11H30 AT THE HOLISTIC HEALING YOGA CENTRE IN THE PALMARAIE   THIS WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON THE COUNTER BALANCE OF MOON ASANAS TO SOLAR ASANAS THE EFFECT THEY HAVE ON THE BODY, WHEN TO PRACTICE THEM, THE CHANDRANAMASKAR ROUTINE, AND THE NADI CHANNELS   [...]

YOGA MARRAKECH IS HOSTING ANOTHER WORKSHOP SUNDAY 30 OCOTOBER 8H30 TO 11H30 EMPHASISING YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI, MUDRAS AND MANTRA, ALSO SPENDING TIME LOOKING AT ASANAS AND PRANAYAMA, IT IS A WORKSHOP IDEAL FOR BEGINNER OR THE ADVANCED WANTING TO TAKE THE TIME TO GO DEEPER INTO THEIR PRACTICE WWW.YOGA-MARRAKECH.COM HEARTOFA@GMAIL.COM

October 9 sees a workshop from 8h30 to 11h30 on the foundational principles of yoga and practicing yoga.   Ideal for anyone wanting to further their study and understanding of the practice and lifestyle Includes study of Patanjali Sutras Pranayama Mudra/meditation Asanas and alignment and more   contact heartofa@gmail.com for inscription

COME SEPTEMBER YOGA MARRAKECH IS PROUD TO BE HOSTING A SERIES OF CONFERENCES ON THE SUBJECT OF YOGA. YOGA AND DIET YOGA AND IMMUNE/NERVOUS SYSTEM YOGA PRANAYAMA ARE MANY MORE SUBJECTS THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED AND TAUGHT IN LENGTH AS PART OF A 8 TO 10 WEEK COURSE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME OFFERED IN [...]

Question: In what holistic ways do you take care of your skin?

We love that the Belmondo skin care line is organic and olive oil-based. Created by Daniela Belmondo, a licensed aesthetician practicing professionally for over six years, the line is designed around the daily rituals of caring for yourself. It contains organic ingredients, sourced fair trade whenever possible. It feels good to know that when we buy Belmondo products, we’re helping the company donate a percentage of sales to a non-profit project founded by friends of Daniela’s in Cape Town, South Africa.

Oh, and the inside scoop? We also feel good because we had the chance to chat in-person with Daniela, and find out she’s just as lovely as her skin care line.

Win your own Belmondo Organic Skin Care pack!

Belmondo  is giving a skin care pack featuring The Garden Hand and Body Lotion, The Balm Nourishing Lip Balm, and The Dunes Gentle Face Exfoliant to one lucky My Yoga Online member.

How to Enter: Just add your answer to the following question to the comments section below: In what ways do you take care of your skin?

With apologies to our international friends, this prize giveaway is only available within North America. Contest runs until the end of Tuesday, January 31, 2012 11:59 PST.

Enter on Facebook, too! Join your My Yoga Online community on Facebook and enter to win there, too. 

Share the love. Tell your friends about this great giveaway. Just click ‘SHARE’ at the top of this post.

The fine print: Click here to read the official contest rules. By submitting a comment on this blog or commenting on or ‘liking’ the Facebook post, you agree to the official contest rules.

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There’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about a certain New York Times article, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body, adapted from a book: “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards,” by William J. Broad—due out next month.

Though Broad admits that much of the benefits of yoga are true: “Yoga can lower your blood pressure, make chemicals that act as antidepressants, even improve your sex life,” he states that “A growing body of medical evidence supports...that, for many people, a number of commonly taught yoga poses are inherently risky.” Broad cites reports of yoga injuries appearing “decades ago” in some of the “world’s most respected journals.”

Though Broad does emphasize that most injuries are due to ego—either on the part of the student or the teacher—he goes on to provide examples of injuries as though they prove that yoga itself is dangerous, rather than the way certain people practice it.

And his examples? They were ones that most experienced yoga teachers would have some instant preventative solutions for.

EXAMPLE “In one case, a male college student, after more than a year of doing yoga, decided to intensify his practice. He would sit upright on his heels in a kneeling position known as vajrasana for hours a day, chanting for world peace. Soon he was experiencing difficulty walking, running and climbing stairs.”

SOLUTION Don’t sit for hours a day in Vajrasana if it’s causing pain.

EXAMPLE “In 1972 a prominent Oxford neurophysiologist, W. Ritchie Russell, published an article in The British Medical Journal... Russell found that brain injuries arose not only from direct trauma to the head but also from quick movements or excessive extensions of the neck, such as occur in whiplash — or certain yoga poses.”

SOLUTION Note the words “quick” and “excessive”. If it feels too “quick”—practitioners can slow it down. If it feels “excessive” we can back off.

EXAMPLE “The patient had been in excellent health, practicing yoga every morning for a year and a half. His routine included spinal twists in which he rotated his head far to the left and far to the right. Then he would do a shoulder stand with his neck “maximally flexed against the bare floor,” just as Iyengar had instructed, remaining in the inversion for about five minutes. A series of bruises ran down the man’s lower neck, which, the team wrote in The Archives of Neurology, “resulted from repeated contact with the hard floor surface on which he did yoga exercises.”

SOLUTION Notice the bruises. These are a sign to pay attention to. Even the medical team assessing Nagler’s patient agrees, citing in their report: “Healthy individuals could seriously damage their vertebral arteries, they warned, ‘by neck movements that exceed physiological tolerance.’” So don’t exceed physiological tolerance.

EXAMPLE “Around this time, stories of yoga-induced injuries began to appear in the media. The Times reported that health professionals found that the penetrating heat of Bikram yoga, for example, could raise the risk of overstretching, muscle damage and torn cartilage.”

SOLUTION Avoid extreme heat, and don’t overstretch.

Broad concludes with a quote from long-time yoga teacher Glenn Black. “‘Asana is not a panacea or a cure-all. In fact, if you do it with ego or obsession, you’ll end up causing problems.’”

Agreed. Looking for tips on how to safely do yoga at home or in a studio? Take some pointers from our latest blog post: 10 Tips for How to do Yoga at Home.

BY LINDSEY LEWIS A certified Hatha, Kundalini and Yin yoga teacher, Lindsey is also a behind-the-scenes team member at www.myyogaonline.com. Find her yoga at home videos here, and her website here. Lindsey's personal mantra? Live free

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Question:  What other body-loving practices do you do on a regular basis?

The crew who designed the Thera Roll tell us that there are only a few muscles that we can really stretch: the neck, low back, hamstrings, calves, rectus femoris muscle (10-15% of the quadriceps group mass), abdominals, iliopsoas, and pectoralis major muscles.

The fun and funky massage and stretch tool offers moderate to aggressive release of sore and fatigued muscles. Designed for competitive athletes, the tool works for yogis too. Just ask Kreg Weiss, My Yoga Online co-founder; he had a chance to try out the Thera Roll and is a full-on fan. The roll comes in three densities: soft (blue), firm (purple) and hard (grey).

Made in the USA, the Thera Roll is comprised of the highest quality, cross-link durable foam. Plus it’s easy to clean and sterilize.

Win your own Thera Roll!

Massage therapist Camelia Eisentrautt is giving a Thera Roll to one lucky My Yoga Online member.

How to Enter: Just add your answer to the following question to the comments section below: What other body-loving practices do you do on a regular basis?

With apologies to our international friends, this prize giveaway is only available within North America. Contest runs until the end of Tuesday, January 24, 2012 11:59 PST.

Enter on Facebook, too! Join your My Yoga Online community on Facebook and enter to win there, too.

Share the love. Tell your friends about this great giveaway. Just click ‘SHARE’ at the top of this post.

The fine print: Click here to read the official contest rules. By submitting a comment on this blog or commenting on or ‘liking’ the Facebook post, you agree to the official contest rules.

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1. Make enough room for a mat. You don’t need a lot of space to do yoga at home. Just enough room for your yoga mat, and a foot or two around all sides. Once you get your practice going, you’ll feel as much calm stepping onto your mat as you would stepping into a studio. State dependent memory—our tendency to adopt the same physiological state we remember being in at other times we did the activity—works in our favour here. We become calm and energized during our yoga practice and soon enough, after a number of sessions on the mat, we begin to feel calm and energized as soon as we step on it.
2. Give yourself permission. Friends, family, work—everything and anything can become a reason to feel guilty about taking the time to do yoga at home. The bottom line is this: we can’t take care of others unless we take care of ourselves.
3. Listen to your body. Your body knows what’s good for you and what’s not. Before you begin your practice, take a few minutes to sit or stand in stillness. Scan your body from your toes, up your legs to your knees and into your hips and lower back. Then scan up to your upper back, shoulders, arms, stomach and chest. Notice any sensations anywhere, ranging from simple sensations of energy to stronger ones of discomfort or pain. Stay tuned into those areas as you do your practice. If you feel increased pain or new pain be sure to back off and choose a different variation of the movement. Rest if you need it.
4. Feel energized? On days when you feel energized, it can be great to do power vinyasa or kundalini yoga at home. These are more dynamic, flowing, energetic styles of yoga.
5. Feel like you want to build energy? Kundalini yoga and power vinyasa flow are also great for building energy. If you’re looking for something less strenuous, try a Hatha practice.
6. Feel like you need rest? Meditation, or yin yoga, are both very nourishing.
7. Feel free to rest. Feel like you don’t have enough energy to do anything at all? Simply practicing savasana, where you lie flat on your back in corpse pose and simply let go, can be enough of a yoga at home practice some days.
8. Feel free to meditate. On other days, you might just want to sit in meditation. Yoga asanas, or physical postures, are actually geared towards enabling us to sit comfortably in meditation. So sit still and rest in the rhythm of your breath—no guilt required!
9. Give yourself permission to make it short and sweet. So a regular class is 75 minutes? What feels right for you? Your yoga at home practice can be as short or as long as you need it to be. Honour what’s right for you. Feeling like you need an asana practice, but can’t convince yourself to get going? Just remember that getting started is the hardest part. Try committing to doing “just seven minutes” but give yourself time for more in case you feel like it.
10. Just do it. Bottom line: When you do yoga at home, even five minutes can bring in the stress-relieving, muscle toning and lengthening

LINDSEY LEWIS A certified Hatha, Kundalini and Yin yoga teacher, Lindsey is also a behind-the-scenes team member at www.myyogaonline.com. Find her yoga at home videos here, and her website here. Lindsey's personal mantra? Live free

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Question: Why are all-natural materials important to you?

Here at My Yoga Online, we like keeping things pure and simple. Water.  Fresh fruit. Raw almonds. Whole-grain oats.

So it’s no surprise that we also like the Halfmoon natural rubber yoga mat—a great choice for both performance and sustainability. This mat stands up to the test of time. Made from naturally harvested rubber, it’s non-toxic, biodegradable and recyclable. Plus, it’s dual-layered to address all of your performance needs for grip, durability, comfort and support.

We were thrilled when we heard this Canadian company was debuting a mat cleaner, too. A synergistic blend of natural cleansing and disinfecting ingredients, the Halfmoon mat cleaner removes dirt and kills germs the natural way. It’s antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, and 100% natural. Plus, it comes in three nose-soothing scents: lavender bergamot, lemon fennel, and unscented.

Win your own Halfmoon yoga mat and mat cleaner!

Halfmoon Yoga Products is giving one lucky My Yoga Online member one yoga mat and one bottle of mat cleaner.

How to Enter: Just add your answer to the following question to the comments section below: Why are all-natural materials important to you?

With apologies to our international friends, this prize giveaway is only available within North America (USA and Canada). Contest runs until the end of Tuesday, January 17, 2012 11:59 PST.

Enter on Facebook, too! Join your My Yoga Online community on Facebook and enter to win there, too.

Share the love. Tell your friends about this great giveaway. Just click ‘SHARE’ at the top of this post.

The fine print: Click here [tktk custom page rules] to read the official contest rules. By submitting a comment on this blog or commenting on or ‘liking’ the Facebook post, you agree to the official contest rules.

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Chanting Om Mantra

One of the most profound meditations is the chanting of the OM mantra. There are many meditation techniques that use the OM mantra, and in today's article you will find an excellent variation below. The technique has been wonderfully explained by Richard, and this is his first guest post on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga. Richard is a meditation teacher and author, and you will find more information on the courses he offers on his website Shaktipat-meditation.org.

If you would like to be a guest author on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga, please email me at anmol@anmolmehta.com.

Chanting Sacred Om

By

Richard Crown

Om is the most sacred sound in our Universe. It represents the basic Shakti energy field that forms the substratum of all existence. The goal of chanting Om is to realize Shakti and become Shakti. While reaching this goal, you can enjoy excellent health and many other benefits by simply chanting Ommmmm??

I learned this exercise from a vibrantly healthy Chinese man who had long white hair tied back in a ponytail. I met him on the street in front of a Taoist Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He told me, ?When I was a young man, I took a long journey up into the Himalayas on a Spiritual quest. The only thing I learned was how to chant Om. I?ve never had a sick day since then.

3 Phases of Om

The Shakti energy field is composed of the smallest energy particles in existence. This particle field underlies everything in our universe. The particles flash out of, and disappear back into, emptiness so fast that their life span cannot be measured. All phenomenon in our universe is created from Shakti particles, sustained in Shakti and disintegrates back into Shakti.

The sacred sound of Om encompasses all three phases of energy:

1. Creating (Brahma)
2. Sustaining (Vishnu)
3. Disintegrating (Shiva)

When you chant Om as described in the exercise below you are:

1. Creating new energy to rebuild yourself on all levels.
2. Sustaining your presence in the universe.
3. Disintegrating away old, unneeded, stale energies, leaving you clean and refreshed.

Chanting Om With Beads

Chanting with beads is the traditional method of measuring both time and number of repetitions while chanting. If you don?t have beads, set the alarm on your cell phone for 10-15 minutes.

Buddhist beads are the most common. There 108 beads on the string ?one bead for each of the Buddha?s 108 disciples. You could also use Muslim beads with 99 beads or a Christian Rosary.

Hold the beads loosely in your hand draped over your index finger. Every time you chant Om once, use your thumb to move one bead. There is usually one slightly larger bead, or a piece of string, to mark the beginning and ending point. Once around the string of beads is one mala.

Pronunciation & Vibration of Om

1. O --long O sound, short duration.
2. m ?short m sound, very long duration.

The long O sound lasts for a very short period of time with your mouth open.

The short mmmmmm?? sound lasts very long with your mouth closed. (It continues as long as you are breathing out.) Send the sound vibrations up your nasal passages with your exhaling breath to vibrate the bone in your nose.

Ommmmm??. While vibrating your nasal bone.

The vibration of your nasal bone is THE most important part of this exercise. No benefit accrues without this vibration. The vibrating nose bone is the magical tool that sends waves of Om energy throughout your entire system.

An Om Exercise

1. Chant the sacred Om sound aloud for one mala. This vibrates all your cells, detoxifying and recharging them.
2. Chant Om in a whisper for one mala. This cleanses your emotions.
3. Chant Om silently for one mala. Continue chanting in time with your breath, sending the silent sound into your nasal bone. This vibrates your etheric energy body. Ultimately you will see the Shakti particle field.

Chanting Om purifies you on all levels. It dissolves away the obstructions that are preventing you from experiencing reality and gaining Enlightenment.

Richard Crown left his native California for Asia more than thirty years ago. He began meditating with the Forest Monks of Northern Thailand before moving on to South India where he has received authorization to teach from two different SatGurus.

Richard now teaches meditation in centers throughout Southeast Asia and worldwide via Skype/Tel. His favorite teaching energies are Shaktipat, Kundalini and Deeksha because they take students very deep into meditation very fast. You can take a personal online course with Richard at Shaktipat-meditation.org.

Download 2 free Ebooks Creating Eternity: A Meditation and Healing Manual and Ascension In Love: Our Spiritual Journey at http://shaktipat-meditation.org/weekly-shaktipat-blessing/

Related posts:

1. Best Mantra Meditation for Emotional Healing | New Free So Hum Mantra Video
2. Great Vedic Mantra for Abundance – Vishvani Deva Mantra
3. Powerful Lord Shiva Mantra | Mahamritunjay Mantra Free MP3 Download
4. OM (AUM) Mantra Meditation Video for Kundalini Yoga Class
5. Lord Ganesh Mantra for Success | Perfect Mantra for the New Year

For all the readers of Mastery of Meditation and Yoga that read my articles via RSS feed or directly from the website, please find below the 10 best yoga poses from last year. This was the topic of my January 2012 - Edition 1 newsletter. Edition 2 featured the 10 best meditation from last year. If you would like to sign up for the newsletter simply enter you email at the top left corner of the website.

The next newsletter will feature the 10 best articles from 2011, so in case you missed any of them, you will have a chance to catch up :-).

Each title below is a link to the article with all the details including cautions, benefits, practice tips, etc. So click that to get full details for that pose.

PS: I have launched a new Facebook fan page for Mastery of Meditation and Yoga. All my free yoga, meditation and pranayama videos can be found there as well. Please stop by and Like it. I appreciate your love and support.

Mastery of Meditation and Yoga Facebook Fan Page

Related posts:

1. Basic Yoga Poses for Balance
2. Basic Yoga Poses for Weight Loss – Part 2
3. Best Yoga for Weight Loss – Complete with Illustrated Yoga Poses and Exercises
4. Yoga Positions for Beginners | Basic Yoga Poses
5. Top Yoga Poses with Pictures for Daily Practice

The Kundalini Experience

Kundalini Awakening Signs

To help people identify that what they were feeling and experiencing were actually signs of Kundalini Awakening and not symptoms of a mental or medical condition, I created a list of Kundalini Awakening Symptoms for them to use as a reference. These symptoms were from my own experience with Kundalini Rising, and were certainly not comprehensive.

Kundalini is a very mysterious process and its awakening and rising tends to always have some unique and personal aspects. Of course there are many common signs, but if you read the hundreds of comments in that article thread, you will notice there are various different ways that people experience kundalini. These varied experiences they gives us more insight into the nature and secrets of kundalini and how she works.

One good thing though with regard to Kundalini Syndrome, which is what the experience of Kundalini Awakening is often referred to as, is that the approach to dealing with the challenges such awakening brings is usually common. Of course there are cases on the extreme end of the spectrum, which need medical intervention and/or psychotherapy, but the vast majority of cases can be handled individually by following the advise laid out in the following 2 articles...

7 Effective Tips for Dealing with Kundalini Syndrome

Kundalini Shakti Held and Advise

So as I alluded to above, the list of kundalini symptoms I enumerated is not necessarily a complete list, and today I want to share with you Don's kundalini experience, which has a detailed account of what he went through with regard to kundalini.

I find his account very useful as it adds to the list of signs of kundalini awakening and also provides valuable advise and help for others who might be struggling with kundalini syndrome. I want to thank Don for sharing his experience with us and if you have yourself experienced kundalni rising please do share your experiences with us in the comments section below. I am sure others will benefit from your insights as well.

Don's Kundalni Experience and Symptom List:

When I started to experience, what I later found out after intensive soul searching and some online research, to be Kundalini symptoms, I was, to put it quite bluntly, terrified. The height of their intensity was in November, October, and December of 2010. I awoke suddenly in the middle of the night to some intensely pleasurable vibrations of a sexual nature, when my wife was sound asleep next to me. Since I knew it wasn?t coming from either of us, I was disturbed, putting it mildly. The next few months were followed by me not being able to sleep without the light on. I felt very strong waves of unseen energy traveling from the soles of my feet toward my head. It was like being in a massage chair. I had nightmares, and I couldn?t shake the feeling of being watched.

I went through some nights or days when I was home alone with some intense kriyas. That?s what terrified me more than anything at the time. I had no control of what was happening, and I didn?t yet understand why. My spine felt like it was elongating. I would go through periods of spontaneous stretching. I was also experiencing some painful aches in my left side, just under my ribcage, which my doctor had no medical explanation for, after she put her stethoscope to where the pain was. That physical pain only lasted a few months,? thankfully. I went through some horrible neck and back pain for those few months, too. At times, I couldn?t even stand up straight.

Here?s a list of other symptoms I was experiencing at the time:

1. Spontaneous popping sounds coming from my nose?.

2. Itchy crawly sensations on my left leg, between my eyebrows, cheeks, and my neck.?

3. What felt like tremendous heat around my left leg and foot. I went through an agonizing forklift injury to my left foot in 2003 that was followed by a long bout of depression, over not being able to support my family the way I was used to, so that needed tremendous healing, and it has in more ways than one today. I didn?t lose my foot, but the crushing injury shattered several bones in my heel, severing my ligaments, and liquifying the soft tissues inside my foot. I shouldn?t be able to run on it today, but I can sprint today from home plate to first base. That shouldn?t be possible, considering the severity of the injury.

?4. Intense ringing in my ears?.

5. Spontaneous emotional trauma and anxiety (sudden memories cropping up of past trauma of sex abuse my brother and I endured at a daycare in the early seventies)?

6. Tachycardia (rapid heart rate of 100 beats a minute or more)?.

7. Severe headaches?.

8. Seeing black blobs of color with my eyes closed that were beyond dark (fears that needed to be released that manifested into dark entities that I could feel and sense)

?9. Unexplained twitches unrelated to anything like Parkinson?s disease?.

10. Being jerked awake at times, almost like my arm was suddenly pulled out of socket.?

11. Severe lack of sleep.

?12. Considered checking into a mental hospital, and so glad I didn?t?.

13. Considered an exorcism.

?14. Severe lack of concentration, like I couldn?t retain any new information.

?15. What felt like electrical sparks around my head and in between my eyebrows.

?16. Spontaneous orgasms that would go on for hours when I was alone with no stimulation or visual. (Reminded me of puberty, without a doubt, although I was now 40)

?17. Nocturnal emissions (wet dreams).

?18. Spontaneous yoga positions, although I?d never taken yoga (something I also experienced often around the age of 10-15).

The list goes on, believe me, but these were the most intense.

Then, an amazing thing happened at about 3 in the morning. I had been lying in bed terrified, when I was suddenly out of my body up near the ceiling in the corner of my bedroom. I looked down to see an intensely beautiful being rubbing my forehead, comforting me. I saw what I can only describe as her wings, stretched down past my toes. My entire bedroom was lit up in the most amazing blue light I can even imagine. In an instant, I was next to my kids? room, where the light was a beautiful shade of orange. Then, I was in the living room, gazing down at my daughter as she was bathed by a brilliant white light, where she had fallen asleep. Then, I ended up in the kitchen to see an amazing shade of green throughout that space. Before I knew it, I was back in my body.

From that moment on, I have been in awe. I released my fears. I truly did experience a ?dark night of the soul.? If you?re going through anything like that, and you?re scared, just release your fear. Fill your heart and thoughts with love. Love vibrates at a very high frequency.

In the coming months, I started to sleep soundly all night long. I started to see auras with the naked eye, as I do today quite clearly. My aura is the most amazing neon green I can imagine, and lately I?ve been seeing my aura turn more blue, and it?s getting stronger and bigger all the time. I?m in school right now, working on medical assisting classes, and I plan on using that as a stepping stone to move into nursing.

There is a spiritual awakening going on. I can feel it every moment. Trust your heart. Trust your intuition. Love yourself as you deserve to be loved, so that you can share that with others.

Lately, I?ve been able to see brilliant shades of purple, blue, and green with my eyes closed, and especially during and shortly after meditation. I see these with the naked eye just as easily. The universe all around us is teeming with life. I trust in that with every ounce of my intuition. It?s something that I?ve always had a gut feeling about. It?s nice to know it?s true.

Namaste and God bless you always! ? Don Winslow

Kundalini Experience Signs and Symptoms Summary:

Don's experience is that of a full blown kundalini awakening. If you are experiencing kundalini activating, you may also be experiencing some of these symptoms.

What I want to especially highlight here is the importance of Trust. If you are going through something like this, you have to simply trust the process. This will help reduce the anxiety, stress and fear that accompanies such a process, which will also help reduce some of the symptoms that are actually not related to kundalini rising, but related to stress and anxiety. I know this can be very hard to do, but the more you can trust kundalini, the better you will be able to handle her.

Some of the interesting symptoms that Don experienced that are often reported are those of spontaneous yoga poses, itchy creepy crawly, intense pressure in the forehead and spontaneously organisms. If you are also experiencing any symptoms of kundalini awakening, feel free to share them with us in the comments sections below.

 

Related posts:

1. Kundalini Awakening Symptoms
2. Awesome Power of Prayer for Kundalini Awakening & More
3. Awakening of Kundalini | 4 Powerful Meditations
4. Jiddu Krishnamurti Ponders His Enlightenment & Kundalini Awakening
5. Top 5 Signs You Are Living Your Passion

Easy Exercise to Burn Fat

Simple Yoga Fat Burning Exercise

Today I read an interesting piece of advice regarding using simple Jumping Jacks 3 or 4 times a day to help you expend extra calories, burn fat and speed up your weight loss results. The article suggested doing 3 sets of 100 Jumping Jacks scattered throughout the day to complement your weight loss exercise program. It stated that you could burn an additional 60 calories a day be including this easy exercise into your day, and that each set would take just 2 minutes to do.

I like this idea and I think its benefits will go beyond just burning fat and losing weight. Today a lot of jobs and life styles lack physical activity and there are many studies that strongly suggest taking a break from prolonged sitting and getting periodic exercise throughout the day. I think this will help with cardiovascular health, respiration, relieving stress, and also help with issues such as back problems and the like. But if you are going to make the effort of sprinkling in the Jumping Jacks during the day, why not do the advanced form of Jumping Jacks which will not just help you burn fat, but will also help you develop mental focus and concentration. In other words, do Yoga Jumping Jacks :-).

The yoga variation of this exercise will be just as good in getting your heart rate up and help you burn fat, but the design of this movement is such that it will require additional concentration from you to do correctly. This additional concentration will work your brain along with your body and help you build mental focus. The variation will also help expand your lung capacity.

We should all be familiar with simple Jumping Jacks, and have probably done plenty in gym class or physical education training, but for yoga jumping jacks, you break up the exercise into 4 parts instead of the 2 parts it normally consists of. Step by step details and illustrations are in the instructional section below.

For those who are familiar with the popular Healthy Weight Loss Yoga Set here on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga, this exercise is part of that set. In an upcoming article I am going to discuss how fast you can lose weight with yoga, and this set will certainly be a part of that discussion.

More Yoga Exercises and Poses:

You will find plenty more yoga poses and exercises in the following 2 free online collections. There you will find both, easy yoga exercises and poses, as well as more advanced one. Free Hatha Yoga Galleries and Free Kundalini Yoga Exercises.

For Yoga and Meditation Certification Program Students:

For students enrolled in the Online Yoga Teacher's Training and Certification Program or Online Meditation Certification Program, this is a great exercise to do early in your class, especially if you want to get the energy going and get everyone's blood pumping. Also, as this is a relatively easy exercise to do, almost all students can participate. Make sure you have plenty of spacing between the students prior to starting.

Yoga Exercise to Burn Fat - Yoga Jumping Jacks

Below please find details of how to practice Yoga Jumping Jacks, along with illustrations, step-by-step instructions, benefits and practice tips. Please note the special breathing that goes along with the movements.

Yoga Jumping Jacks Illustrations

B. How Much To Do:

• For the purpose of losing weight, burning fat and doing it frequently during the day, as I mentioned, do 2 minutes or a set of 100.
• In general though you can even do 5 minutes of this exercise.
  

C. Easy Yoga JJ Exercise Benefits:

• Good for Burning Fat and promoting weight loss.
• The different variation and coordination with the breathing makes it good for building concentration and focus.
• Works on your heart and lungs.
• Helps tone and strengthen your calves and leg muscles.
• Works on your arms and shoulders.
• Great exercise for getting your entire body warmed up and getting your energy going.

D. Practice Tips for Yoga JJs:

• This yoga exercise is not as simple as it looks as you really have to focus in order to break the pattern of how you normally do Jumping Jacks. Once you get the rhythm though, it should get easier and start to flow.
  
• To modify this exercise just move the legs or just the arms. This easier version is good for seniors or the disabled. Also, if you are getting tired you can switch to doing just arms or just legs, to allow yourself some time to recover.
  
• You can also of course do normal Jumping Jacks instead of these more difficult ones.
• This is really a fun exercise to do, so enjoy yourself as you do it. Embrace a child like mentally and jump away.

More Fat Burning Exercises and Poses:

Post Natal Yoga Exercise to Lose Weight

Best Yoga Exercises for Weight Loss

PS: If you enjoy this exercise or any other exercise on Mastery of Meditation and Yoga, please do share them with your friends. I appreciate your support.

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Enlightenment Means Being Altruistic

Altruism and Living a Good Life

One of the more interesting debates in the spiritual landscape is whether or not Enlightenment stops at "being", or if living a truly enlightened life, includes "doing". In other words, can the enlightened life be defined as simply being in the state of Oneness, with no trace of the ego, or should the definition of an enlightened life include doing good and being altruistic?

Is focusing on "being" enough? Is it ok to stumble upon the state of non-duality or the One Self and then retire to the mountains to rejoice in this discovery? Or is it incumbent upon those who have discovered this great Truth to then be of service to others?

In the article, the 5 Principles of Living a Good Life, I detailed the 5 principles I follow, which I feel are key to enlightenment and living an awakened and good life. These 5 principles are the following...

1. Being Relaxed: Going with the flow.
2. Witnessing: Being mindful of your thoughts, feelings and actions.
3. Affection: Being kind and loving.
4. Honesty: In all things, action included.
5. Courage: This is needed to face the horror of your inward state and go beyond.

The above 5 principles were not forged overnight, but they came forth after being on the spiritual path for many years. Although in the list above I included affection, I did not specifically say that doing good or altruism was a necessary part of the process. In other words affection can be taken as more passive in nature, while going out there and doing good is more active in nature.

To this list and article, I received a very interested response from my friend Steve Cohen. He is indicating that the "doing" should be made a part of leading an enlightened life and altruism should be added to the list of 5 principles that are essential for enlightened living.

Of course, I am all for altruism and doing good flows naturally when your heart is full of love and compassion. The enlightened, free of the burden of self centered desires are loving and giving, and in this state goodness flows from them, but is it ok for them to just reside in "being" and not engage consciously and actively in "doing"? That is the question being put forth.

Here are Steve's very insightful thoughts on this subject:

I wanted to share a few thoughts on living an enlightened life, which have been bubbling inside since I read the yoga sutras a few years ago and started to focus on the spiritual journey. My thoughts didn't crystalize into something I could articulate until I read your 5 Principles For Living an Enlightened and Good Life article and subsequent meditation.

I was also at the same time preparing a teaching for a monthly service that I lead and my focus this month is on seeking balance between "being" and " doing" using analogies from the Joseph story in the bible. During recent meditations a realization flowed through that all of the originally articulated enlightenment principles are "being" focused.

I wanted to suggest an additional essential principle for leading an enlightened and good life that focuses on "doing".

Altruism. For this purpose, I define altruism as taking actions with the primary intent of benefiting someone other than oneself. I believe that part of living an enlightened and good life is coming to the realization that we are all part of the whole and then acting for the benefit of the whole (including another Self in the whole) rather than simply for the benefit of your Self. If enlightenment is defined as awakening to the realization of non- dualism and to the fact that we are each one with others and with divine nature, then it seems to me that altruism is a logical and essential result of this enlightened realization.

I also favor the word integrity over honesty as a more nuanced word for enlightened living. To me, integrity encompasses honesty of thought and consistent follow through in actions; however, I think this is just word choice preference and we mean something similar in how we use these words.

I guess at some level of enlightenment it is all being focused being in the present with "what is", but something in my gut tells me that an even higher level of consciousness would be to be doing from that place of enlightened being in the present and that would truly be the epitome of an enlightened and good life. The journey continues.

Obviously, one can't encompass all of life in 5 words, but I thought you might be interested in considering these observations.

I continue to very much enjoying your course materials and appreciate the work you have undertaken to compile them.

Steve Cohen

Summary of Altruism and Enlightened Living:

So what do you think? Is is sufficient to be enlightened, and live your life in love, peace and harmony, in just "Being", or is it essential to go out there and do good and be altruistic? If the world is all an illusion, a dream and just a game, is it really important to bother with it at all? Or, since suffering is real for those who are not enlightened, is it the responsibility of the enlightened to go out there and be of service to others, and help alleviate their pain?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

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2. Zen Definition of Spiritual Enlightenment
3. Understanding Non-Duality, Hinduism, Buddhism, Enlightenment & Life!
4. Survey Results – Are We Entering the Age of Enlightenment?
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