12 Great Reasons To Start Alternate Nostril Breathing “I rest well. I sleep peacefully, and I awaken with joy” Louise Hay Your nose is exceptionally clever. Simply by practising a few rounds of alternate nostril breathing (pranayama) for a few minutes each day, you can help restore imbalances in your brain – improve sleep – calm your emotional state – boost your thinking – calm your nervous system. Another interesting fact about your nostrils, is that you don’t breathe through them equally all the time. Left nostril for calming – right nostril for energy: Your nose is directly linked to your brain and nervous system. Breathing in through your left nostril will access the right “feeling” hemisphere of your brain, and breathing in through your right nostril, will access the left “thinking” hemisphere of your brain. Yogic breathing, the perfect relaxation tool: I happen to believe alternate nostril breathing is up there, as one of the most therapeutic calming rituals. 12 benefits of alternate nostril breathing: 1: Revitalizes you: Caution:
How Can Meditation Help You Control Your Mind? Many people believe that it is not necessary to learn to control one’s own mind because they think they already have such control. Others, based on casual introspection and analysis of forces constantly impinging upon our minds, believe that we will never have control of our own minds and that such control is simply an illusion, though it may well be an illusion with important adaptive consequences. The view the question invites is somewhat more nuanced. It asks whether we can learn to control our mind, and thus assumes that there is a gradient of control ranging from little to more, and that individuals may vary in where they fall along this continuum. When we refer to controlling our mind what do we typically mean? Do we emerge at birth endowed with this ability? Insights from Developmental Considerations Can newborns control their minds? Default Mode of Brain Function, Mind Wandering and Voluntary Control Individual Differences Summary and Conclusions Questions for Discussion:
The Top 50 ‘Pictures of the Day' for 2011 Every day at 5pm the Sifter posts the Picture of the Day. Below you will find a collection of the Sifter’s Top 50 from 2011. It’s hard to imagine the year is almost over, time seems to fly faster each successive year so it’s fun to take a moment and look back at the year that was. Click any of the pictures below to be taken to the individual post to learn more about the photographer and picture taken. Enjoy and stay sifty my friends!
Meditation Techniques – The Ultimate Guide EmailShare Guide to Meditation Techniques Welcome to the ultimate meditation techniques guide. One of the most important aspects of meditation is to choose the technique which is right for you. Before I jump ahead though, I would like mention that the ultimate purpose of any meditation technique is Enlightenment or Self-Realization. Below you will find details on which are the best meditation techniques to do, in order to obtain certain results. Meditation Technique #1: Zen Meditation Technique – Zazen Goal: Awareness, Detachment, Peace Zen Meditation Technique is the undisputed heavyweight in the world of meditation. Zazen is essentially silent, seated meditation and excellent for a wide range of benefits. You will find more details on Zazen in the article, Zen Meditation Technique. Meditation Technique #2: Concentration Meditation Technique – Trataka Goal: Concentration, Mental Focus One common myth about meditation is that it is the same as concentration. Goal: Psychic Powers, Intuition
Audio: Meditation Guided Meditations with Malcolm Huxter Body Scan gives instructions on bringing awareness to bodily sensations. For the most part this exercise is relaxing. Progressive Relaxation gives guidance for a common muscle tension and release exercise often used for stress management. Calming the body with the breath, describes a mindfulness of breath exercise coupled with relaxation. Cultivating peace and joy with the breath, is an extension of the track "Calming the body with the breath". Mindful Standing and Walking, provides simple instructions for mindful standing and walking. Mindfulness of Breath gives instructions for mindfulness of breath, as is it experienced as movement in the abdomen. Mindfulness of sound and thought, firstly instructs on how to use sound as an object of meditation then asks the listener to shift attention to thoughts. Open awareness. A guided Loving kindness meditation.
77 Things You Never Knew About Yoga Whether you’re an accomplished Yogi or a bright-eyed newbie – check out these fascinating yoga facts – you’ll be amazed at what you never knew! Following the amazing success of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love” meditative travelers are trading in sun, sea, sand vacations for more introspective trips. The author found inner-peace and true love through yoga and meditation via New York, India and Bali. But before you set off on your own journey of self-discovery – check out these 77 things you never knew about yoga, share with your friends and spread the yoga love! Yoga Facts 1. Yoga in the US 24. Yoga Benefits 33. 65. Learned something new? If you liked this, you might also like: 10 Ways to Avoid Vacation Stress *Statistics taken from the Yoga in America Study 2008. Tagged as: alternative therapy, Buddhism, complementray therapy, Eat Pray Love, exercise, fitness, fun, health, india, meditation, spirituality, yoga, yoga facts, yoga retreat
Meditation Is For You | Let’s Get Started Let’s Get Started Welcome! You are about to start your very first meditation lesson. You are taking the first step towards a blissful life! At the end of this series you will know a powerful 35 minute meditation that you can practice daily. Humming Meditation Body Detoxification Chakra Awareness Unclutch Gratitude Lets Put It All Together Congratulations! Five minute meditations: (You can try these meditations in any order) <p><strong>This page is having a slideshow that uses Javascript. Drop The Anxiety and Fear This meditation helps us greatly to acknowledge and distinguish between conscious and unconscious worries, hence reducing the anxiety and fears within us. ... Freedom From Emotional Baggage This meditation can be performed anytime/anywhere to free your inner space from the emotionally loaded memories such as fear, love, and greed. ... Breathe Deep to De-Stress This inhaling and exhaling breathing technique will instantly help you remove the stress. Dissolve the Negativity Daily Meditations
Dran - The French Banksy Based in Toulouse, Dran is a multi-talented artist who uses a variety of media such as installations, paintings and drawings to convey his ironic viewpoint. After developing his skills as part of Toulouse’s renowned graffiti scene. He is also a fan of the absurd and has published a number of books featuring his funny sketches parodying everyday events with great doses of surrealism. Check him at retroactif.free.fr/dran Enjoy The Gallery My god this is incredible. the style reminds me more of blu ( than banksy, but the sense of humor is definitely banksy-esque you stole the idea of the finger smashing a person’s head from blu. Not even close. Great stuff. nice art work Magnifique. If the style won’t be so gloomy it could be named littele masterpieces this is wonderful. stumblebutton’d art for a little soul motivation. and, youve made my day. i really like these. awesome! depressing Russian style art. This is great – would be nice to see some of the pieces on buildings.
The benefits of meditation Studies have shown that meditating regularly can help relieve symptoms in people who suffer from chronic pain, but the neural mechanisms underlying the relief were unclear. Now, MIT and Harvard researchers have found a possible explanation for this phenomenon. In a study published online April 21 in the journal Brain Research Bulletin, the researchers found that people trained to meditate over an eight-week period were better able to control a specific type of brain waves called alpha rhythms. “These activity patterns are thought to minimize distractions, to diminish the likelihood stimuli will grab your attention,” says Christopher Moore, an MIT neuroscientist and senior author of the paper. “Our data indicate that meditation training makes you better at focusing, in part by allowing you to better regulate how things that arise will impact you.” A 1966 study showed that a group of Buddhist monks who meditated regularly had elevated alpha rhythms across their brains.
A Little Meditation Goes a Long Way I consider myself something of a prospective meditator—meaning that a serious meditation practice is always something I’m about to start… next week. So for years, I’ve been making a mental note of new studies showing that meditation can literally change our brain structure in ways that might boost concentration, memory, and positive emotions. Jacob Wackerhausen The results seem enticing enough to make anyone drop into the full lotus position—until you read the fine print: Much of this research involves people who have meditated for thousands of hours over many years; some of it zeroes in on Olympic-level meditators who have clocked 10,000 hours or more. Pretty daunting. Well, a new study offers some hope—and makes the benefits of meditation seem within reach even for a novice like me. The researchers tracked 16 people who were participating in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, the training program developed more than 30 years ago by Jon Kabat-Zinn.