23 posts tagged “mindfulness”
If your life is anything like mine, you know that some days just Suck and you really need a quiet place to collect thoughts and catch your breath. If you’re looking for a nice place to visit on the web (not that it isn’t nice to get away from the danged computer sometimes) when you feel like you need a break or some insightful inspiration, then head on over to Daily Zen. While there are some great Zen quotes and stories to be found there, my favorite part of Daily Zen is the Meditation Room, where with the click of a button a bell rings and you enter into a meditation shrine of sorts. Whether you sit for a minute or 20, Daily Zen is a peaceful place on the web that can brighten your day.
Also, next time you send someone an e-mail, why not send it with a Zen Card.
Read about Swami Vivekananda’s visit to the World of Congress in 1893. Check out the rest of SwamiJ.com for some serious reading about yoga.
Swami Vivekananda, originally uploaded on Flickr by Chetan Hegde M.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” - Dalai Lama
“My message is the practice of compassion, love and kindness. These things are very useful in our daily life, and also for the whole of human society these practices can be very important.” - Dalai Lama
I just ran across a great article at Zen Habits with some excellent reminders for how we can live more kind and compassionate lives. I don’t really think I could say it much better than the guide does so I highly recommend heading over there for a bit of reading and pondering.
Yoga just makes you feel good. Anybody who’s done yoga for more than a week realizes that there’s more to yoga than just twisting, bending and generally looking impressive on your mat. There’s something about the consistent intersection of the forces of mind, body and breath that refreshes the spirit and slowly changes the practitioners life for the better.
As if we needed scientific research to inform us of the benefits of stepping on a yoga mat, well, proof is what we have. Recent research out of Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and McLean Hospital found that practicing yoga may elevate (BIG WORD ALERT!) brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels, the brain’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. The findings, which appear in the May issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, essentially suggest that the practice of yoga may be a beneficial treatment for disorders associated with low GABA levels such as depression and anxiety.
The following article from PhysOrg.com discusses the research and significance of the findings. I think you’ll find it interesting.
The World Health Organization reports that mental illness makes up to fifteen percent of disease in the world. Depression and anxiety disorders both contribute to this burden and are associated with low GABA levels. Currently, these disorders have been successfully treated with pharmaceutical agents designed to increase GABA levels.
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, the researchers compared the GABA levels of eight subjects prior to and after one hour of yoga, with 11 subjects who did no yoga but instead read for one hour. The researchers found a twenty-seven percent increase in GABA levels in the yoga practitioner group after their session, but no change in the comparison subject group after their reading session. The acquisition of the GABA levels was done using a magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique developed by J. Eric Jensen, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an associate physicist at McLean Hospital.
According to the researchers, yoga has shown promise in improving symptoms associated with depression, anxiety and epilepsy. “Our findings clearly demonstrate that in experienced yoga practitioners, brain GABA levels increase after a session of yoga,” said lead author Chris Streeter, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology at BUSM and a research associate at McLean Hospital.
“This study contributes to the understanding of how the GABA system is affected by both pharmacologic and behavioral interventions and will help to guide the development of new treatments for low GABA states,” said co-author Domenic Ciraulo, MD, professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry at BUSM.
“The development of an inexpensive, widely available intervention such as yoga that has no side effects but is effective in alleviating the symptoms of disorders associated with low GABA levels has clear public health advantage,” added senior author Perry Renshaw, MD, PhD, director of the Brain Imaging Center at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.
So, with those happy thoughts in mind…you’d best get off the Internet and get back on the yoga mat!!
Yoga Sutra 2.7 - 2.11
Attachment is a residue of pleasant experience.
Aversion is a residue of suffering.
Clinging to life is instinctive and self-perpetuating, even for the wise.
In their subtle form, these causes of suffering are subdued by seeing where they come from.
In their gross form, as patterns of consciousness, they are subdued through meditative absorption.
Varanasi, originally uploaded on Flickr by dwrawlinson.
The Ririan Project blog almost always has great tips on personal development, but today’s post, Get Your Soul In Shape With These 11 Most Deeply Held Wisdoms, was fantastic. Many people only focus on how to have a nice looking outer appearance, but utterly fall short in terms of having a beautiful spirit as well. While many of the ideas included on the list are probably second nature to some yogis, I imagine that you might find some new ideas for living more peacefully, such as by hanging your troubles on a tree (see #4) or developing compassion by saving tears in a cup (see #11). Here’s the list:
1. Learn to quiet your mind.
Is your mind awash in all kinds of debris - trivia, worries, “to do” lists? We tend to be unaware that we are thinking virtually all the time. The incessant stream of thoughts flowing through our minds leaves us very little respite for inner quiet.
But our most valuable and profound moments in life happen when our thoughts become momentarily quiet, and we open up to a direct heartfelt encounter with the world around us. So try some very basic meditation and remember, you’re striving for a quiet, focused mind. Don’t be discouraged. Learning to quiet your mind may take some time. Just keep trying.
2. Develop the happiness habit.
And do this by always looking at the bright side of life and endeavoring to be happy. Don’t let some outer circumstances decide your happiness for you. Happiness is here, within you. Just calm your mind and stay relaxed, and you will experience it. Happiness is inherent in our souls; it is not something to be gained anew, and all that is necessary to do is to uncover it.
3. Just lighten up.
Lighten up. Spring is here at last. The sun is shining, birds are singing and life in general seems that little bit brighter. G.K. Chesterton wrote: “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” And what works for angels can’t help but be good for us. Levity addresses worry’s tendency to obsess, scoffs at the demon of perfectionism, and exposes the self-absorption that lies at the root of unhappiness.
4. Hang up your troubles.
Before entering your house at night, walk over to a tree and close your eyes for a moment. Rather than taking your worries inside your house, hang them on that “worry tree.” You won’t believe how well it works, and when you’ll pause in the morning to collect your worries, most of them will be gone.
5. Develop tolerance, patience, tact and consideration for others.
Respect is key to our ability to function. It really is following this simple rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. It is the value that makes the world a more decent and civilized place. And when you learn to acknowledge, accept, and value yourself and others you fundamentally shift your perspective in a way that changes how you think and act. So develop tolerance, tact, patience, respect and consideration for others.
6. Soulful housekeeping.
When you want clarity, joy or sexiness - de-clutter on the basis of your intention for a room. Be brave, be bold, be relentless. Once a room is set up, when you bring one thing in, take one thing out. You have to attend to it the way you attend to a garden. It’s about how you nurture yourself: if you’re not doing it with your home, you’re not doing it with yourself. De-cluttering is about the transformation of self. The relief you feel when you let go is amazing. You cannot carry your life around with you.
7. Conjuring everyday bliss.
To be happy we don’t need beauty, but we must accept and like ourselves. Instead of fame, we need optimism. Rather than wealth, we need a purpose. We don’t have to have a special talent but need a job or activities we enjoy. We need wisdom rather than intelligence, autonomy rather than conformity. Happy people resist social pressure and exert personal control. The things needed for happiness are all within our control, and we can work toward them. Act now!
8. Unwrap the present.
Accept the past, focus on the present and don’t stress about the future. The past is over and the future so uncertain. Nostalgia dwells on loss, and expectation is often nothing more than premeditated resentment. But when you reject them both - by wanting what you have, doing what you can, and being who you are - the gift of time is yours to savor.
9. Pray for someone you hate.
Have you ever tried to pray for someone you haven’t forgiven or you hold anger? Hatred was never good for the soul so close your eyes and imagine your enemy’s face in your mind; and then pray, “May so-and-so find peace within his or her soul.” It always works, you simply can’t hate a person and pray for him at the same time.
10. Take the love drug.
What does science know about love? Not much at all. But we do know that people who are in committed relationships and people who are sexually expressive are less depressed; a romantic-love relationship allows both partners to fill their physical, emotional, and intellectual needs without any losses or compromises. Such a relationship provides major personal benefits and increased pleasures from life. So immerse your soul in some love.
11. Pool your tears.
Learn from the ancient Hebrews, they kept tear cups on their mantels - those little porcelain cups in which they saved their tears. Next time you’re crying, try blessing your tears as they fall. And when others grieve, recognize your own tears in their eyes. When we pool our tears, they do everyone a world of good. When we wallow in them, we drown alone.
“The Glow of Hope” by S.L. Haldekar
Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, Mysore
From Wikipedia:
Glow of hope, also called “Woman with the lamp“, is a painting by Haldenkar. It is housed in a special room at Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore, India. The painting is currently on display on the second floor of the museum, in an enclave with a curtained window. The enclave is normally darkened, which highlights the subtlety of the glowing candle in the piece. When the light is turned on, the painting reveals remarkably subtle shades of pink and lavender in the woman’s sari. Opening the enclave’s curtain leads to yet another distinct view of the painting, the natural light exposing even more subtle gradations and details inthis magnificent work.
The painting shows an Indian woman holding a lighted lamp in one hand, the other hand covering the light of the lamp from the front. The woman is in a simple and traditional Indian saree. The effect of the painting is heightened by the shadow of the woman in the back.
If you are looking for some motivation to practice yoga more often, check out these 38 Ways Yoga Keeps You Fit. They are sure to inspire you to get on the mat more regularly. Here’s a sampling from the article at Yoga Journal:
11
Yoga lowers cortisol levels. If that doesn’t sound like much, consider this. Normally, the adrenal glands secrete cortisol in response to an acute crisis, which temporarily boosts immune function. If your cortisol levels stay high even after the crisis, they can compromise the immune system. Temporary boosts of cortisol help with long-term memory, but chronically high levels undermine memory and may lead to permanent changes in the brain. Additionally, excessive cortisol has been linked with major depression, osteoporosis (it extracts calcium and other minerals from bones and interferes with the laying down of new bone), high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. In rats, high cortisol levels lead to what researchers call “food-seeking behavior”
(the kind that drives you to eat when you’re upset, angry, or stressed). The body takes those extra calories and distributes them as fat in the abdomen, contributing to weight gain and the risk of diabetes and heart attack.16
Yoga encourages you to relax, slow your breath, and focus on the present, shifting the balance from the sympathetic nervous system (or the fight-or-flight response) to the parasympathetic nervous system.
The latter is calming and restorative; it lowers breathing and heart rates, decreases blood pressure, and increases blood flow to the intestines and reproductive organs—comprising what Herbert Benson, M.D., calls the relaxation response.26
Yoga can ease your pain. According to several studies, asana, meditation, or a combination of the two, reduced pain in people with arthritis, back pain, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other chronic conditions. When you relieve your pain, your mood improves, you’re more inclined to be active, and you don’t need as much medication.
So, there’s three good reasons, now go check out the other (38-3:) = 35!
Since there is very little video footage (that I’ve seen) of Paramahansa Yogananda, I guess we have to be grateful for the video footage that we do have. While I really enjoyed reading Autobiography of a Yogi, as well as many of Yogananda’s other works, I would have to agree with the comment on YouTube about this clip that said, ” Uh… Let’s just say this is a case of the book being better than the movie….” Don’t get me wrong, I actually like the clip, but I think I would prefer to be able to see it unedited. I think Yogananda was a lot more dynamic than this clip portrays. It’s kind of funny how serious he is, especially when he says, “you people do not sleep correctly…[and you] subconsciously worry about unpaid bills….” No kidding!
