Bandha
Bandha: Internal muscular locks (mula bandha, uddiyana bandha, jalandhara bandha). These contractions are intended to protect the spine and internal organs and control energy flow. There are three main bandhas involving three muscle groups: perineal, abdominal, and cervical (neck). Contraction affects nervous, circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, and energetic systems. Energetically, bandhas are used as means of untying granthis (psychic knots or blockages) which exist as tension, anxieties, repressions, and unresolved conflicts. Bandhas help control breath, and breath controls consciousness.
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
Brahmacharya
BRAHMACHARYA means self-restraint. It is sometimes translated as celibacy, which comes from the belief that loss of semen leads to loss of vitality. But this does not imply that yogis should be celibate; on the contrary, many great yogis have been householders with families. Without experiencing human love and happinesss, it is not possible to experience divine love. Brahmacharya also means one who sees divinity in all. BRAHMACHARYA PRTISHTHYAM VIRY LABHAH.Upon being established in brahmacharya, there is the attainment of vital energy.
Yoga Sutra 2.38
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”―Eleanor Roosevelt
Asteya
ASTEYA means not stealing the property or possessions of others. Being envious of or begrudging another; cheating someone with sweet words; gaining selfish ends under the guise of truthfulness: all are to be abandoned. Heaps of gems fall before the yogi who practices asteya, and he becomes the abode of all gems.
ASTEYA PRATISHTHAYAM SARVARATNA UPASTHANAM
Upon being established in non-stealing, there occurs the attainment of all prosperity.
Yoga Sutra 2.37
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
Satya: Truthfulness
Satya means truthfulness. It also means refraining from speaking if the truth will do harm. According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, if one follows the truth in this manner, all one’s words will become true and all one’s desires will be fulfilled.
SATYA PRATISHTHAYAM KRIYA PHALA SHRAYATVAM
Upon being established in truth, there is surety in the result of actions.
Yoga Sutra 2.36
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
Ahimsa
Ahimsa means not causing injury 2 anyone,including animals,in any form, @ any time,or 4 any reason,in word,thought, or deed. It is more than a negative command not 2 kill; it has a wider positive meaning:2 love.
AHIMSA PRATISHTHAYAM KRIYA PHALA SHRAYATVAM Upon being established in non-hurtfulness, there is a relinquishing of hostility in the presence of that (ahimsa).
Yoga Sutra 2.35
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
DRISTI: Eye gazing-focal point
“There is no ashtanga yoga without surya namaskara, which is the ultimate salutation to the sun god.” Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
“What we are trying to do is not to live at each other, not to live with each other, but to live for each other.” Siri Singh Sahib Yogi Bhajan
10 Everyday Miracles
By Roo Mulligan
How many times have you said, “It’s Wednesday, only two more days until the weekend!”? Most people stumble through each day planning and waiting for the next big adventure; the party they have coming up on Saturday night, the vacation they’ll take this summer, the concert they’ll attend in a few months.
We think of a normal day as something to get through until the real fun begins. Our culture emphasizes the big moments. We honor actors at the Academy Awards, cheer Olympic athletes every four years and have the Kentucky Derby once a year. All these events are exciting. People dress up, newscasters talk about the event for weeks before hand, and spectators come from miles around. In comparison, our normal, everyday lives can seem very mundane. We end up wishing our lives away waiting for that great, future moment.
But, truly, every day is a miracle.
As Thich Nhat Hanh says, “But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize. A blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black curious eyes of a child, our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
Here are ten miracles we experience all the time.
1. Just the fact that you are alive is a miracle! Of all the millions of possible gene combinations, you came out. The timing was right, you have the right number of chromosomes, your mother was able to carry and nurture you for 9 months. All the conditions have to be just right for someone to be born. Being you and being alive is truly miraculous.
2. The sun comes up and the moon comes out. The earth spins on its axis and we have a brand new day every 24 hours.
3. The seasons change – nature runs in its perfect cycles and we don’t have to do anything except appreciate it.
4. Random acts of kindness. A smile and connection with a stranger.
5. All the different cultures of this world. We are all human yet we developed in many unique ways. Some speak Japanese and eat fish; others speak Spanish and eat paella. Still others speak Russian, English, and Gaelic. We all communicate and create customs yet we have created different ways of speaking, eating preferences and creative expressions that make us special.
6. No matter where you live, you see the same moon as everyone else.
7. We have created amazing technology that we use on a daily basis. You can speak into a little metallic thing and someone thousands of miles away can hear you. You can type on your keyboard and gain access to any information from anywhere in the world you want.
8. Music! It’s pretty amazing that someone can play the guitar and bring you to tears because it’s so beautiful.
9. Your body works! Your heart beats, your lungs expand, your eyes blink, your skin regenerates, your blood pumps throughout your body, you inhale oxygen and exhale carbon monoxide. Just think about all that your body does. You are a miracle.
10. Friendship. Every day people are connecting, forming friendships, valuing friends they already have. We get to choose who we want to spend time with, what we talk about, and how we spend our time together. Facebook is used by millions of people and is such a success because having friends and being connected is vital to our wellbeing. Sharing your life, thoughts, dreams, hopes and struggles with another and feeling understood is an everyday miracle.
These are just a few examples of the miracles we have in our lives every day. The big momentous events are exciting. They give us something to look forward to, plan for, and who doesn’t like to dress up every now and then?
But the everyday is not something just to be survived or endured until the big event. Each day can be savored.
There are miracles around us all the time. All we have to do is open our eyes and our minds to appreciate them.
“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.” ~ Mary Jean Irion
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
10 Life changing tips inspired by Gandhi
By, Robert Piper
Here are ten of my favorite life changing tips inspired by one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century -Gandhi
1. You Can Change The World
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
2. Think Positive
“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
3. Cherish Life
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
4. Don’t Give Up
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.”
5. Practice Compassion
“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
6. Live In Harmony
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
7. Forgive
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
8. Meditate
“I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.”
9. Serve Others
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
10. Live Life To The Fullest
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
Practice is my mantra, the progress will come as one goes on practicing. Practice, practice, practice alone makes the intelligence to be humble.” ~Sri BKS Iyengar
“The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind. It enables us to remain undisturbed, even when the situation is really difficult. It gives us a certain amount of inner peace, which allows us some self-control, so that we can choose to respond to situations in an appropriate and compassionate manner, rather than being driven by our disturbing emotions.” Dalai Lama
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, without it, you can practice no other.” Maya Angelou
A Special Message from Oprah:
Today’s Thank You Game challenge is to thank someone who has helped you be brave. (http://on.fb.me/ThankYouGame)
I most want to thank Maya Angelou for helping me to be brave. In my most fearful moments, she has been the 1 I relied on most, & called first.
Years ago I phoned her complaining about what I’ve now long forgotten. She shared these words,”Courage is the most important of all the virtues, without it, you can practice no other.” It takes courage to be kind when others are not. It takes courage 2 be truthful when a lie might suffice. It takes courage to keep moving forward, when you’d rather quit. I’ve learned that courage, or opting for bravery, is feeling the fear and still doing what is necessary to overcome it. And in the very act of bravery you don’t feel brave but just feel what is true & most real.
Ironically one of my most desolate moments, barely being able to speak in between sobs of despair, I called Maya looking for comfort and sympathy. Instead she sternly chided me, “STOP IT” she said. “Stop your crying right now and say THANK YOU!”
“Why would I say thank you for this?” I said. “Say thank you because you know God, and you know He put a rainbow in every cloud. The rainbow is coming. Say thank you even though you can’t see it. It’s already there.”
So in the worst of times, I still remind myself of that great lesson and say “Thank you”…and then prepare to see the rainbow.
Design by: Gregory Ryan Klein
