Breathing Exercises - Importance of Holding Breath

Breathing exercises, such as "Pranayam", keep you healthy by various means. In normal course we do what may be called "shallow" breathing. The lungs are neither fully expanded nor contracted. Therefore the air flow in the lungs is restricted. Breathing exercises generally increase the volume of air flow providing more oxygen and removing carbon dioxide more efficiently.

In many breathing exercises you are told to hold your breath for some time. Depending upon the exercise you may be required to hold your breath either after inhaling, or after exhaling.

How does holding the breath help?

It is not possible to empty the lungs entirely; some amount of air will be there even after exhaling "fully". Normally there are some small pockets inside the lungs in which air tends to remain stagnant. Air inside those pockets does not join the main flow of air. It gets depleted in oxygen and fresh supply does not reach there. Blood coming in contact with air in those pockets does not get fresh oxygen and carbon dioxide is not removed from that part of blood.

When you inhale air and hold your breath in that position, the air drawn inside the lungs gets more chance of mixing with stale air in those pockets. As more time is made available for air mixing, stagnant stale air is removed and supply of fresh air goes inside those pockets. Similar action takes place when you exhale air out and hold your breath. There is reduced pressure inside the lungs which draws out the stale air. The overall effect of these actions is that entire surface of alveoli, or air sacs inside the lungs gets larger amount of fresh air.

In "Pranayam" as you continue regular practice you are expected to increase the duration of holding the breath as well as number of times you do the exercise. You should increase both, not one at the cost of the other.

Holding the breath also helps you to concentrate better. In many breathing exercises, I will again take example of "Pranayam", you are required to concentrate on breathing and visualize the flow of air. For example as you inhale, you may be asked to visualize that you are drawing in life-force or "Prana" along with fresh oxygen. While holding the breath you may be directed to visualize that "Prana" is getting absorbed in greater quantity. When you exhale you throw out toxins as well as bad thoughts and at the same time "Prana" gets distributed in the body. Visualization has remarkable influence on the effectiveness of breathing exercises.

When you are holding your breath it is difficult to think of anything except your breathing. To that extent it helps you in directing your concentration towards yourself.

The diaphragm, like any other body muscle also needs exercise. Breathing deeply and holding your breath provide exercise for the diaphragm.

I would strongly recommend that any breathing exercise, particularly "Pranayam", should be done under the guidance of trained persons only.

Any exercise will work better for you when you know how the exercise is helping you. Next time when you do breathing or any exercise, just be conscious of what is happening in your body and you will get better results for the same effort.

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Kundalini Yoga For Beginners - Yoga For the Stars

For those who are still trying to start yoga should make sure to have a yoga exercise guide first, one that is especially designed for beginners. It is a good thing that newbies, today, can easily have access to the highly beneficial Kundalini Yoga for Beginners from the market.

The makers of this exercise guide are Ana Brett and Ravi Singh. These two individuals are the ones responsible for coming up with a project that is quite new in the world of yoga and wellness.

Kundalini Yoga for Beginners can be availed in a DVD. The DVD primarily contains the effective workout activities that are targeted towards building strength, back care, aerobic efficiency, relieving stress, and others. The DVD provides yoga practitioners with highly effective yoga routines that they can perform on a daily basis. The routines are divided into two separate twenty-five minutes worth of footage that can be done either alone or within a group.

The first set is mainly focused on the maintenance of the integrity of the person's back, as well as increasing the flow of energy all throughout the body.

The second set, on the other hand, discusses the features of the famous five Tibetan exercises. These kinds of exercises are generally authentic, yet fun at the same time. Also, they are purposely designed to facilitate vitality, youth, and suppleness.

This particular yoga exercise guide also includes effective meditation, deep relaxation, and a breath primer. Apart from that, the practitioners are also motivated to exercise in a relaxed manner through a background soundtrack of the songs sung by Tom Carden himself.

Kundalini Yoga for Beginners has received a lot of attention worldwide. In fact, even today's most successful actors and actresses use this particular exercise guide in order to benefit from them. Examples of such popular personalities are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, famous rock band; Gwyneth Paltrow, a constant receiver of different acting-related awards; Donna Karan, creator of famous fashion line, DKNY; and Madonna, world-famous music icon.

A matrix has also been added to the system, which allows users to design their very own regimen, according to the time that they are available. Practitioners can also choose what particular techniques they are interested in including in their regimen, and also the sequence with which they are performed.

This only proves that the Kundalini Yoga for Beginners is such a famous yoga exercise guide, primarily because of its long list of positive effects.

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Music for Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is an ancient set of Yogic practices that promote a deep feeling of relaxation, well-being, and emotional integration. There are several components to a Nidra session - that include gentle Yoga asanas, progressive relaxation, dharana (concentration), dhyana (profound meditation), and emotional integration. The music that you choose to play, during a Yoga Nidra session, should reflect the component of the practice you are working with and/or the entire Nidra practice. In other words, the Rolling Stones may not be the most suitable music to play when engaging in Yoga Nidra practices. Music that is exuberant, and energy-enhancing, may be fun in another context, but overly-stimulating and detrimental to the soothing and quiet inner environment, created by Nidra exercises.

Gentle, soothing music that complements the different aspects of a Yoga Nidra session, or the session overall, would be the most supportive musical choice. During the asana preparation of Nidra practice, you might choose to play sacred music, that is somewhat upbeat, to inspire you to move through the poses. During the rotation of awareness, progressive relaxation, and emotional integration portions of the practice, it may be most suitable to play ambient, quiet music that does not have any lyrics, so that you are able to focus inward on your own body and mind.

Musical tracks, that support an inward focus, or dharana, would be particularly beneficial to play during a Yoga Nidra session. For instance, there are compact discs that are recordings of the chanting of "om" for the entire forty-five minutes. Recordings of sacred mantras will facilitate the practitioner of Nidra to be inwardly-focused and quiet. Other sacred mantra recordings may include Tibetan Buddhist chants, Gregorian chants, and Native American chants. There are also many recordings available of ambient sounds of the ocean, rain, waterfalls, and so on. These may also lend a wonderfully soothing backdrop to your Yoga Nidra practice or class.

Musical selections that are particularly inappropriate for a Yoga Nidra session, or class, are selections that are exciting and stimulating. Although musicians, such as Bruce Springsteen, Macy Gray, and Peter Tosh are loads of fun to listen to, and often are very inspiring, they do not lend themselves to the calm, contemplative practice of Nidra. Music has been shown to profoundly affect our brains and nervous systems. Music, that helps to calm an overactive nervous system, an anxious mind, and a disconnected spirit would be most effective when practicing Nidra exercises.

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Why Is Mindfulness Meditation Gaining So Much Popularity in the West?

If you're new to meditation, you know how hard it is to learn how to meditate properly. With all the different forms of meditation and books on the market, it's almost impossible for the beginner to figure out where to start. In this article, we're going to look at why mindfulness meditation has become so popular in recent years. This will help you understand why it's so effective in helping practitioners find true happiness and inner peace.

What Exactly is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness meditation is a secular form of meditation that has its roots in insight meditation--the oldest form of meditation the Buddha taught over 2,500 years ago. The main goal is to attain freedom from suffering. This is accomplished by developing self-awareness, or mindfulness, because it is our inaccurate views of the world that trigger our negative emotions.

Growing up we learned that in order to be happy we had to indulge in positive emotions, and avoid negative emotions. The problem with this approach is that our emotions are short-lived, so we have to keep chasing the things that trigger those positive emotions. We often end up compromising the harmony within ourselves, and with the people around us.

With mindfulness meditation, you'll develop an awareness of the true nature of reality. By observing what is happening within your mind, body, and the world around you, you'll begin to lift the veil of illusion that creates the suffering in your life. This is essentially what a spiritual awakening is. Mindfulness meditation is a training of the mind that will help you to overcome your fears and painful emotions, so you can be free of suffering, and find inner peace.

Why the Popularity?

The primary reason mindfulness meditation has become so popular is because scientists have been conducting a tremendous amount of research on the practice. They are confirming the benefits that practitioners have been advocating for many years, and they're continuing to make breakthroughs every day.

Researchers are finding that mindfulness meditation helps people overcome many health-related issues such as stress, high blood pressure, heart disease, substance abuse, and much more. They're also finding that the practice helps people enhance their mental capabilities such as abstract thinking, memory, and creativity. It even helps people improve their leadership and social skills.

The 3 Main Components of the Mindfulness Meditation Practice

The 3 main components that make up the foundation of the mindfulness meditation practice are concentration, mindfulness, and loving-kindness. Specifically, concentration and mindfulness are your primary tools of investigation. By developing them, you'll be able to look deeply into the true nature of your pain and suffering.

Concentration

Concentration is the ability to focus our attention on one subject or object. We do this by forcing ourselves to pay attention. The objective of concentration is to look deeply into the true nature of reality. This requires us to keep our attention fixed on an object without being distracted. It requires mental discipline.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness, on the other hand, is a more delicate activity. It is a gentle awareness of what is happening in the present moment. Both concentration and mindfulness work together to help you look deeply into the true nature of your existence, and your relationships with other people and the rest of the world.

Loving-Kindness Meditation

Loving-kindness meditation is a practice that was originally taught by the Buddha himself and has remained an essential part of various spiritual traditions. Loving-kindness is the ideal form of love. It is unconditional love, meaning that it extends to all people regardless of whether or not they deserve it. There are also no expectations of receiving anything in return. We simply share love with everyone we encounter. And the great thing about it is that it'll come back to us many times over.

The purpose of loving-kindness meditation is to cultivate unconditional love for all people and living beings, so that we improve our relationships with others. This will provide you with the spiritual nourishment you will need to grow.

The Power of the Practice

When practiced using the proper techniques, mindfulness meditation is an extremely powerful tool for spiritual development. If there is any drawback, it's that it takes diligence and commitment. The good news is that the practice is relatively easy to learn, and your efforts will be well rewarded with an inner peace and serenity that most people never achieve in their lifetime. Furthermore, you can achieve noticeable results very quickly.

Since mindfulness meditation is a secular practice, you don't have to abandon your current spiritual faith. In fact, the practice will help you understand your faith better. And once you have a solid understanding of the practice, you can tailor it to your specific needs.

Most people are surprised at how fast they progress when practicing mindfulness meditation. Those who take up the practice and meditate consistently, often come to the realization of how much spiritual growth they've been missing out on.

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Meditation Technique - Best Technique For Beginners

Meditation technique could help you dealing with today's life that is full of struggles and stresses. If one decides to slow down, there is a full chance of him being left behind. Most of us live a stressful life and are overloaded with work to maintain pace with others. Stress is the gate to all mental and emotional ailments. Meditation is the best possible way to reduce stress and live a healthy and happy life.

Meditation traditionally is done with focusing on objects like candle, or your breath. Through meditation, your mind and body relaxes and you experience inner peace. The more you are focused and concentrated, the better results you are going to experience. Meditation helps in developing your concentration levels. Many people amongst us believe meditation is not for us and might not work in our situation. Well, this is completely wrong and the fact is that anyone can easily learn meditation and if you practice it regularly it will help in knowing yourself better. This article discusses some meditation techniques that are very easy to follow and work real well too.

The most basic form of meditation technique is closing your eyes and counting your breaths. All you have to do is to simply breathe in and breathe out and pay attention to the sensation of your breath coming in. You have to feel the air coming in and going out of your nostrils. This will help you concentrate or meditate. When you will follow this breathe in and breathe out for some time, you will notice that your focus on counting your breaths is increasing and your contact with the outside world is reducing. Keep your eyes closed during this process and keep yourself focused.

Another common meditation technique is the use of some mantra. In traditional Hindu culture, the word OM is considered magical for healing powers. The skill lies in not just speaking it but chanting it from the bottom of your heart. It can be any mantra all you have to do is to chant it again and again so that your mind starts focusing on it. When you chant anything repeatedly by sitting in a quiet room and closing your eyes, you will start noticing that your contact with the outside world is reducing.

Meditation technique is very similar to technology in its development. From the early stage until now, meditation has undergone a lot of changes. Now, with advanced but yet very simple technique, meditation becomes very easy to do. One of this technique is the initiation technique. After getting a Divine Energy initiation, you could get into a deepest meditation state instantly. Getting into deep state of meditation requires months and months of intense training in the past, but this can be achieved almost instantly with Divine Energy initiation.

If you think positive thoughts during meditation, it will have a positive affect on your body as your thoughts have a direct influence on your body. This is called self healing meditation which is involves deep meditation. Through this, positive energy is produced in our body that increases the healing process. This form of meditation is often suggested by hospitals these days.

For meditation, you should be in a calm and quiet place. This will help you to focus in a better way. The mattress you are practicing on should be comfortable too or else you will easily get distracted. Early morning is the best time to meditate as mind is all fresh that time. Drinking a glass or two of water prior to meditating is good. One thing to keep in mind is that you should not eat too much before you start meditation. Keep yourself light and mind relaxed. When your stomach is neither empty nor extra full, you can concentrate better. Whatever meditation technique you choose, enjoy it.

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