Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Creative visualization for manifesting what you most desire, right here, right now
Creative visualization is one of the most powerful tools available to humans, to help them create their reality. You are what you think, and you can manifest anything you want (provided it is in harmony with your being and with the universe) - and the universe is the magic genie that says “your wish is my command”. All one has to do is ask.
One particular visualization that I want to share with you goes something like this:
First practice yoga nidra (there is a free MP3 at the bottom of this page for anyone interested).Yoga nidra usually has visualization embedded into it. Do that visualizations first and complete the practice. Now, in that state of deep relaxation and feeling of wellbeing and connectedness to the self, visualize again whatever it is you want to manifest in your life. Imagine that it has already happened. Fully experience the positive feelings that well up within you when you imagine that it has already happened. Get into the details of the event.
Once you have clearly visualized your desire, place your visualization in a pink balloon. Pink is the color of enlightenment. It is also the color of the heart. Fill your image with the vibration of this color. Now release the balloon into the atmosphere and freely let it go, with your visualization still inside it. This is symbolic of an emotional freeing of the dream. Now that you have let this balloon free into the universe, containing your dream, it will float around and collect the energy needed for it to become a reality.
All you need to do now is sit back and wait for the manifestation!
I have read about this visualization on several occassions (and practiced it, with great results). It is reccomended by healers and therapists alike. Shakti Gawain who is a well known for her work in the field of personal growth has also recommended it in her book on Creative Visualization.
One particular visualization that I want to share with you goes something like this:
First practice yoga nidra (there is a free MP3 at the bottom of this page for anyone interested).Yoga nidra usually has visualization embedded into it. Do that visualizations first and complete the practice. Now, in that state of deep relaxation and feeling of wellbeing and connectedness to the self, visualize again whatever it is you want to manifest in your life. Imagine that it has already happened. Fully experience the positive feelings that well up within you when you imagine that it has already happened. Get into the details of the event.
Once you have clearly visualized your desire, place your visualization in a pink balloon. Pink is the color of enlightenment. It is also the color of the heart. Fill your image with the vibration of this color. Now release the balloon into the atmosphere and freely let it go, with your visualization still inside it. This is symbolic of an emotional freeing of the dream. Now that you have let this balloon free into the universe, containing your dream, it will float around and collect the energy needed for it to become a reality.
All you need to do now is sit back and wait for the manifestation!
I have read about this visualization on several occassions (and practiced it, with great results). It is reccomended by healers and therapists alike. Shakti Gawain who is a well known for her work in the field of personal growth has also recommended it in her book on Creative Visualization.
Labels: creating your reality, creative visualization, manifesting what you desire, yoga nidra
Monday, December 28, 2009
Bringing in the New Year mindfully
The new year is almost here. Resolutions are being made. We keep on promising ourselves that we will quit that bad habit or lose all the extra weight put on during the year end fesitivities. Some of us even go a step beyond and say that we will pick up a healthy practice such as yoga or meditation. Why not? Gone are the days when going to a yoga class was considered a luxury, a fashionable thing to do or a hip new age practice. Yoga has become a necessity, something we need for survival.
The earth is going through many changes. And if we are to keep up with those changes in energy and vibrational frequency of the earth, without losing our peace of mind, then yoga is the only way.
We can start with one asana a day and 10 minutes of silence. Pick one asana. Have you practiced yoga before? If yes, then pick one asana that you love and practice that for five minutes a day. Examine the changes that it created in your body - why do you love this particular asana so much? Sit for 10 minutes, silently, watching your breath after your practice.
If you have never practiced yoga before, find a teacher near you and make a begining. A group session, even once a week can have great benefits for you. Your body needs it, your mind, only more so.
I will give you an example of how asana can help stabilise your mind, breath and body on a daily basis, if practiced every day, that is. Take balancing asana as a practice. You are standing on your right leg , with the foot of the left leg resting against the right inner thigh. Your palms are pressed together in prayer pose and placed against your chest. Keep your gaze on a point in front of you. Maintain your normal breathing. Keep your awareness on your pose, balance and breath. Now two things come into focus here:
1.Your body is not always able to balance perfectly.
2.Balance is not about stillness. It is about movement.
The important thing is to focus your awareness on the body and accept it the way it presents itself in that moment. Practice non-judgement. Practice balance.
Balancing asana soothe the nerves. They help the body release excessive energy trapped in the nerves which creates anxiety and tension. They tone the nerves and restore a sense of balance to the body and mind.
Why not make a resolution to get on the mat and stay on it for five minutes a day? Why not strike a pose, meditate and take the benefits to bed everynight? This moment is as good as any other, to begin.
After all, as the old saying goes “The past is history, the future is a mystery. The moment is a gift. That is why it is called The Present”.
The earth is going through many changes. And if we are to keep up with those changes in energy and vibrational frequency of the earth, without losing our peace of mind, then yoga is the only way.
We can start with one asana a day and 10 minutes of silence. Pick one asana. Have you practiced yoga before? If yes, then pick one asana that you love and practice that for five minutes a day. Examine the changes that it created in your body - why do you love this particular asana so much? Sit for 10 minutes, silently, watching your breath after your practice.
If you have never practiced yoga before, find a teacher near you and make a begining. A group session, even once a week can have great benefits for you. Your body needs it, your mind, only more so.
I will give you an example of how asana can help stabilise your mind, breath and body on a daily basis, if practiced every day, that is. Take balancing asana as a practice. You are standing on your right leg , with the foot of the left leg resting against the right inner thigh. Your palms are pressed together in prayer pose and placed against your chest. Keep your gaze on a point in front of you. Maintain your normal breathing. Keep your awareness on your pose, balance and breath. Now two things come into focus here:
1.Your body is not always able to balance perfectly.
2.Balance is not about stillness. It is about movement.
The important thing is to focus your awareness on the body and accept it the way it presents itself in that moment. Practice non-judgement. Practice balance.
Balancing asana soothe the nerves. They help the body release excessive energy trapped in the nerves which creates anxiety and tension. They tone the nerves and restore a sense of balance to the body and mind.
Why not make a resolution to get on the mat and stay on it for five minutes a day? Why not strike a pose, meditate and take the benefits to bed everynight? This moment is as good as any other, to begin.
After all, as the old saying goes “The past is history, the future is a mystery. The moment is a gift. That is why it is called The Present”.
Labels: balancing asana, yoga poses
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Ho o pono pono
The power to change the world from the inside out.
I wanted to introduce you to this amazing, inspirational concept described in the article below.
Within this article lies the inspiration that forevermore shatters a sense of individual powerlessness. Joe Vitale tells the story of the absolutely amazing Huna practice of Ho’o pono pono of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We are powerful agents of change as we learn to utilize the energy of true love and forgiveness.
Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients–without ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an inmate’s chart and then look within himself to see how he created that person’s illness. As he improved himself, the patient improved.
When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t logical, so I dismissed the story.
However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho ‘o pono pono. I had never heard of it, yet I couldn’t let it leave my mind. If the story was at all true, I had to know more. I had always understood total responsibility to mean that I am responsible for what I think and do. Beyond that, it’s out of my hands. I think that most people think of total responsibility that way.
We’re responsible for what we do, not what anyone else does–but that’s wrong.
The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally ill people would teach me an advanced new perspective about total responsibility. His name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an hour talking on our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the complete story of his work as a therapist.
He explained that he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years. That ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous. Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a lot or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients. It was not a pleasant place to live, work, or visit.
Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have an office and to review their files. While he looked at those files, he would work on himself. As he worked on himself, patients began to heal.
‘After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being allowed to walk freely,’ he told me. ‘Others who had to be heavily medicated were getting off their medications. And those who had no chance of ever being released were being freed.’ I was in awe. ‘Not only that,’ he went on, ‘but the staff began to enjoy coming to work.
Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We ended up with more staff than we needed because patients were being released, and all the staff was showing up to work. Today, that ward is closed.’
This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: ‘What were you doing within yourself that caused those people to change?’
‘I was simply healing the part of me that created them,’ he said. I didn’t understand. Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life- simply because it is in your life–is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation.
Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life. This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy or anything you experience and don’t like–is up for you to heal. They don’t exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside you. The problem isn’t with them, it’s with you, and to change them, you have to change you.
I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live. Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with Dr. Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in ho ‘o pono pono means loving yourself.
If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal, you do it by healing you.
I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was he doing, exactly, when he looked at those patients’ files?
‘I just kept saying, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you’ over and over again,’ he explained.
That’s it?
That’s it.
Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world.
Let me give you a quick example of how this works: one day, someone sent me an email that upset me. In the past I would have handled it by working on my emotional hot buttons or by trying to reason with the person who sent the nasty message.
This time, I decided to try Dr. Len’s method. I kept silently saying, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you,’ I didn’t say it to anyone in particular. I was simply evoking the spirit of love to heal within me what was creating the outer circumstance.
Within an hour I got an e-mail from the same person. He apologized for his previous message. Keep in mind that I didn’t take any outward action to get that apology. I didn’t even write him back. Yet, by saying ‘I love you,’ I somehow healed within me what was creating him.
I later attended a ho ‘o ponopono workshop run by Dr. Len. He’s now 70 years old, considered a grandfatherly shaman, and is somewhat reclusive.
He praised my book, The Attractor Factor. He told me that as I improve myself, my book’s vibration will raise, and everyone will feel it when they read it. In short, as I improve, my readers will improve.
‘What about the books that are already sold and out there?’ I asked.
‘They aren’t out there,’ he explained, once again blowing my mind with his mystic wisdom. ‘They are still in you.’ In short, there is no out there. It would take a whole book to explain this advanced technique with the depth it deserves.
Suffice It to say that whenever you want to improve anything in your life, there’s only one place to look: inside you. When you look, do it with love.
Joe Vitale
Source:
http://successultranow.com/inspiration/inspiration/hoo-pono-pono-the-power-to-change-the-world-from-the-inside-out/
I wanted to introduce you to this amazing, inspirational concept described in the article below.
Within this article lies the inspiration that forevermore shatters a sense of individual powerlessness. Joe Vitale tells the story of the absolutely amazing Huna practice of Ho’o pono pono of Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We are powerful agents of change as we learn to utilize the energy of true love and forgiveness.
Two years ago, I heard about a therapist in Hawaii who cured a complete ward of criminally insane patients–without ever seeing any of them. The psychologist would study an inmate’s chart and then look within himself to see how he created that person’s illness. As he improved himself, the patient improved.
When I first heard this story, I thought it was an urban legend. How could anyone heal anyone else by healing himself? How could even the best self-improvement master cure the criminally insane? It didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t logical, so I dismissed the story.
However, I heard it again a year later. I heard that the therapist had used a Hawaiian healing process called ho ‘o pono pono. I had never heard of it, yet I couldn’t let it leave my mind. If the story was at all true, I had to know more. I had always understood total responsibility to mean that I am responsible for what I think and do. Beyond that, it’s out of my hands. I think that most people think of total responsibility that way.
We’re responsible for what we do, not what anyone else does–but that’s wrong.
The Hawaiian therapist who healed those mentally ill people would teach me an advanced new perspective about total responsibility. His name is Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. We probably spent an hour talking on our first phone call. I asked him to tell me the complete story of his work as a therapist.
He explained that he worked at Hawaii State Hospital for four years. That ward where they kept the criminally insane was dangerous. Psychologists quit on a monthly basis. The staff called in sick a lot or simply quit. People would walk through that ward with their backs against the wall, afraid of being attacked by patients. It was not a pleasant place to live, work, or visit.
Dr. Len told me that he never saw patients. He agreed to have an office and to review their files. While he looked at those files, he would work on himself. As he worked on himself, patients began to heal.
‘After a few months, patients that had to be shackled were being allowed to walk freely,’ he told me. ‘Others who had to be heavily medicated were getting off their medications. And those who had no chance of ever being released were being freed.’ I was in awe. ‘Not only that,’ he went on, ‘but the staff began to enjoy coming to work.
Absenteeism and turnover disappeared. We ended up with more staff than we needed because patients were being released, and all the staff was showing up to work. Today, that ward is closed.’
This is where I had to ask the million dollar question: ‘What were you doing within yourself that caused those people to change?’
‘I was simply healing the part of me that created them,’ he said. I didn’t understand. Dr. Len explained that total responsibility for your life means that everything in your life- simply because it is in your life–is your responsibility. In a literal sense the entire world is your creation.
Whew. This is tough to swallow. Being responsible for what I say or do is one thing. Being responsible for what everyone in my life says or does is quite another. Yet, the truth is this: if you take complete responsibility for your life, then everything you see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is your responsibility because it is in your life. This means that terrorist activity, the president, the economy or anything you experience and don’t like–is up for you to heal. They don’t exist, in a manner of speaking, except as projections from inside you. The problem isn’t with them, it’s with you, and to change them, you have to change you.
I know this is tough to grasp, let alone accept or actually live. Blame is far easier than total responsibility, but as I spoke with Dr. Len, I began to realize that healing for him and in ho ‘o pono pono means loving yourself.
If you want to improve your life, you have to heal your life. If you want to cure anyone, even a mentally ill criminal, you do it by healing you.
I asked Dr. Len how he went about healing himself. What was he doing, exactly, when he looked at those patients’ files?
‘I just kept saying, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you’ over and over again,’ he explained.
That’s it?
That’s it.
Turns out that loving yourself is the greatest way to improve yourself, and as you improve yourself, you improve your world.
Let me give you a quick example of how this works: one day, someone sent me an email that upset me. In the past I would have handled it by working on my emotional hot buttons or by trying to reason with the person who sent the nasty message.
This time, I decided to try Dr. Len’s method. I kept silently saying, ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you,’ I didn’t say it to anyone in particular. I was simply evoking the spirit of love to heal within me what was creating the outer circumstance.
Within an hour I got an e-mail from the same person. He apologized for his previous message. Keep in mind that I didn’t take any outward action to get that apology. I didn’t even write him back. Yet, by saying ‘I love you,’ I somehow healed within me what was creating him.
I later attended a ho ‘o ponopono workshop run by Dr. Len. He’s now 70 years old, considered a grandfatherly shaman, and is somewhat reclusive.
He praised my book, The Attractor Factor. He told me that as I improve myself, my book’s vibration will raise, and everyone will feel it when they read it. In short, as I improve, my readers will improve.
‘What about the books that are already sold and out there?’ I asked.
‘They aren’t out there,’ he explained, once again blowing my mind with his mystic wisdom. ‘They are still in you.’ In short, there is no out there. It would take a whole book to explain this advanced technique with the depth it deserves.
Suffice It to say that whenever you want to improve anything in your life, there’s only one place to look: inside you. When you look, do it with love.
Joe Vitale
Source:
http://successultranow.com/inspiration/inspiration/hoo-pono-pono-the-power-to-change-the-world-from-the-inside-out/
Labels: healing, ho o pono pono, inspiration
Thursday, October 29, 2009
OSHO*s Meditations
I have been out of action once again. My days have been spent in the company of OSHO and by that I mean I have been reading his writings.
His words have inspired me so much that I now want to share his meditations with you. To begin with, I am providing a link to a site which has some of his meditations. Have a look, try some out and tell me what you think. In the meantime, I will be uploading some of the meditations that I came across in his book and the one*s that I tried as well. Please cut and paste the link in your browser if necessary.
http://www.osho.com/Main.cfm?Area=Meditation&Language=English
His words have inspired me so much that I now want to share his meditations with you. To begin with, I am providing a link to a site which has some of his meditations. Have a look, try some out and tell me what you think. In the meantime, I will be uploading some of the meditations that I came across in his book and the one*s that I tried as well. Please cut and paste the link in your browser if necessary.
http://www.osho.com/Main.cfm?Area=Meditation&Language=English
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Thought for the day from Bindumandala
One evening a Cherokee elder told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between the two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is Unhappiness. It is fear, worry, anger, jealousy, sorrow, self-pity, resentment and inferiority. The other is Happiness. It is joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth and compassion. ”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed”.
He said, “My son, the battle is between the two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all. One is Unhappiness. It is fear, worry, anger, jealousy, sorrow, self-pity, resentment and inferiority. The other is Happiness. It is joy, love, hope, serenity, kindness, generosity, truth and compassion. ”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed”.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Yoga for obesity
Obesity is becoming an epidemic in some parts of the world, and it is starting in childhood. The food industry targets kids with food that has abnormally high quantity of fat and lacks all else in the form of nutrition. Coupled with that is a lack of participation in sports and physical activity, due to entertainment and technology that encourage a sedentry lifestyle. Yoga offers solutions to this unhealthy way of life that would invariably lead to obesity and a myriad health problems associated with that.
Yoga should be taught to very young children (starting from the age of 7) and made mandatory in schools. If yoga is brought to children fairly early on in their life, they will grow into healthy adults, aware of their body and mindful of what they eat. It cultivates mindful eating and develops awareness and compassion towards one's body from a very young age. Yoga can be used as a way to teach kids about their body and how to take care of it so that they remain healthy, youthful and happy throughout the rest of their lives.
Obesity is caused by a host of different factors. There is genetics, hormonal abnormalities, poor eating habits and a lack of exercise and sometimes a combination of these factors. Yoga can help in two ways: firstly it can prevent obesity from ever occuring and secondly, it can help with managing the condition once it has come about.
Obesity as we know can cause serious harm to a person's health. From heart disease to diabetes and stroke, it could potentially cause them all.
Some of the practices in yoga that can be successfully used to tackle obesity include:
The sun salutations: Yoga's claim to a cardio-oriented workout. It gets the heart pumping and flushes out toxins, while increasing metabolic activity.
Pranayama: The most effective way to fitness. As absurd as it may seem, these breathing exercises really help in reducing weight. They have a host of other benefits too.
Yoga nidra: rest and relaxation are key factors in any wellness or recovery program.
If yoga is coupled with a good diet and an active lifestyle, obesity can be kept at bay.
Yoga should be taught to very young children (starting from the age of 7) and made mandatory in schools. If yoga is brought to children fairly early on in their life, they will grow into healthy adults, aware of their body and mindful of what they eat. It cultivates mindful eating and develops awareness and compassion towards one's body from a very young age. Yoga can be used as a way to teach kids about their body and how to take care of it so that they remain healthy, youthful and happy throughout the rest of their lives.
Obesity is caused by a host of different factors. There is genetics, hormonal abnormalities, poor eating habits and a lack of exercise and sometimes a combination of these factors. Yoga can help in two ways: firstly it can prevent obesity from ever occuring and secondly, it can help with managing the condition once it has come about.
Obesity as we know can cause serious harm to a person's health. From heart disease to diabetes and stroke, it could potentially cause them all.
Some of the practices in yoga that can be successfully used to tackle obesity include:
The sun salutations: Yoga's claim to a cardio-oriented workout. It gets the heart pumping and flushes out toxins, while increasing metabolic activity.
Pranayama: The most effective way to fitness. As absurd as it may seem, these breathing exercises really help in reducing weight. They have a host of other benefits too.
Yoga nidra: rest and relaxation are key factors in any wellness or recovery program.
If yoga is coupled with a good diet and an active lifestyle, obesity can be kept at bay.
Labels: obesity, yoga for obesity, yoga for weight loss
Yoga: A wellness tool, not boutique fitness routine
Yoga has been accused of being an elitist passtime. The teaching and practice has been contorted to such a point that it has become inaccesible to ordinary folks. Now activists are having to step in to rescue its reputation by saying that it is meant for everyone, and can be used effectively in rehabilitation and healing. It is essential that it be made easily available to one and all irrespective of socio-economic standing or their current place in life, whatever that may be, they say. These activists are part of a movement that wants to take yoga beyond its image as a fashionable fitness fad, practiced only by the wealthy. They are saying that it can be applied as therapy for various groups considered at risk such as HIV/AIDS victims, homeless youth, toruture victims, drug addicts and those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, to name a few.
As a part of this effort started by George Washington University, yoga teachers and centres in the Washington DC area of America, are volunteering their time and services to help precisely these groups of people. It appears to be a collaborative effort between yoga centres and social services organizations to provide these groups of people the space for self-acceptance, healing and ultimately, integration back into society. One of the teachers participating in this effort says the goal is to give people access to the real yoga. The practice of asana, according to him, is not just about getting into a pose, but about getting grounded, observing the body and its limitations, accepting it and from there on, relating to the world around you.
Yoga is fast becoming a way to reach out to people and offer comfort during troubling times. It is being recongized as a form of therapy in the broadest sense. The time has come for this to happen because the world is looking for alternatives to traditional forms of therapy that are non-inclusive to begin with – that is, they diagnose the problem and prescribe a solution which often only serves to further isolate the victim.
Another yoga instructor and therapist says that giving people the possibility to empower themselves is a huge part of this inititative. Yoga scores highly in that area because it has the potential to do just that. These teachers are also attempting to deconstruct the idiom of movement in yoga so that more people can relate to it as a tool for wellbeing in the deepest sense of the word. The movements themselves could end up meaning nothing if they are not presented in the right way, body-awareness, breathing, observation and all.
As for the participants themselves, most feel that yoga has impacted their lives positively, and to them scientific verification is irrelevant as far as the effects of yoga go. There is a common perception amongst them that yoga can help heal deep wounds and make lasting changes for the better in people's lives. While some may prefer to use yoga explicitly for fitness, there is enough evidence to show that there is more to yoga than meets the eye. You don't have to stretch your imagination too far to see that, you just have to stretch, yourself.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR2009080504065.html?hpid=moreheadlines
As a part of this effort started by George Washington University, yoga teachers and centres in the Washington DC area of America, are volunteering their time and services to help precisely these groups of people. It appears to be a collaborative effort between yoga centres and social services organizations to provide these groups of people the space for self-acceptance, healing and ultimately, integration back into society. One of the teachers participating in this effort says the goal is to give people access to the real yoga. The practice of asana, according to him, is not just about getting into a pose, but about getting grounded, observing the body and its limitations, accepting it and from there on, relating to the world around you.
Yoga is fast becoming a way to reach out to people and offer comfort during troubling times. It is being recongized as a form of therapy in the broadest sense. The time has come for this to happen because the world is looking for alternatives to traditional forms of therapy that are non-inclusive to begin with – that is, they diagnose the problem and prescribe a solution which often only serves to further isolate the victim.
Another yoga instructor and therapist says that giving people the possibility to empower themselves is a huge part of this inititative. Yoga scores highly in that area because it has the potential to do just that. These teachers are also attempting to deconstruct the idiom of movement in yoga so that more people can relate to it as a tool for wellbeing in the deepest sense of the word. The movements themselves could end up meaning nothing if they are not presented in the right way, body-awareness, breathing, observation and all.
As for the participants themselves, most feel that yoga has impacted their lives positively, and to them scientific verification is irrelevant as far as the effects of yoga go. There is a common perception amongst them that yoga can help heal deep wounds and make lasting changes for the better in people's lives. While some may prefer to use yoga explicitly for fitness, there is enough evidence to show that there is more to yoga than meets the eye. You don't have to stretch your imagination too far to see that, you just have to stretch, yourself.
Source:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR2009080504065.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Labels: hatha yoga, wellness tools