Learning Meditation Home Page 10 Yoga Poses to Fight Depression and Anxiety The mind, body and spirit are all connected and when a person suffers from mild depression or anxiety, the body is out of balance. Yoga is a series of stretches that helps bring balance to the body; not just focusing on the body’s health, but also on the mind and spirit. Always consult a physician or counsellor if you are having ongoing feelings of depression or anxiety and before trying any new exercise program. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. & 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Slowly wake up the body, wiggling the toes and fingers. Focusing on breathing and practicing yoga poses can calm momentary anxiety and depression by giving the mind a peaceful focus and re-energizing the body.
Ask the Dietitian Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing « Metta Refuge This excerpt from a talk by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explains how to use mindfulness of breathing to bring loving-kindness to our dear bodies. The physical effect of this can be truly remarkable. As Thây says, “You should really love your body. You should really take care of your body. Mindful breathing, with rest, can do miracles The First Exercise of Mindful Breathing My dear friends, yesterday I spoke about the first exercise proposed by the Buddha concerning mindful breathing: “Breathing in, I am aware that I am breathing in; breathing out, I am aware that I am breathing out.” We should always start with our physical bodies, because our physical bodies also needs peace, harmony and rest. We should realize a true rest. Animals in the forest, every time they are wounded, know how to rest. Deep relaxation here is one of the methods of resting. The Second Exercise of Mindful Breathing Do not try to prolong the breath; just allow it to be the way it is, naturally. Like this:
Yoga Main Page Sculpture of a Hindu yogi in the Birla Mandir, Delhi Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, and Jainism. In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy, and to the goal toward which that school directs its practices. Major branches of yoga in Hindu philosophy include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings, and is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning “to control”, “to yoke” or “to unite”. Raja Yoga: The Path of Meditation Rāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation (dhyana) to further one’s acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation. The mind is traditionally conceived as the “king” of the psycho-physical structure which does its bidding (whether or not one has realized this). The Path of Meditation
The Couch-to-5K Running Plan By Josh ClarkPosted Saturday, 1 January, 2011 Couch to 5K ® | Beginning Running First off, you may be asking, "exactly how many miles is a 5K?" You should ease into your 5K training plan gradually. It's easy to get impatient, and you may feel tempted to skip ahead in the program, but hold yourself back. Start Your 5K Training | A Few Minutes Each Week Each session should take about 20 or 30 minutes, three times a week. Be sure to space out these three days throughout the week to give yourself a chance to rest and recover between efforts. Run for time or run for distance There are two ways to follow this Couch to 5K ® training program, to measure your runs by time or by distance. Before setting out, make sure to precede each training session with a five-minute warmup walk or jog. Cool Running’s Couch to 5K ® Program is available for purchase online through iTunes or the Google Play Store. 5K Training Schedule
What Is Love? Famous Definitions from 400 Years of Literary History by Maria Popova “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what you are expecting to give — which is everything.” After those collections of notable definitions of art, science, and philosophy, what better way to start a new year than with a selection of poetic definitions of a peculiar phenomenon that is at once more amorphous than art, more single-minded than science, and more philosophical than philosophy itself? Kurt Vonnegut, who was in some ways an extremist about love but also had a healthy dose of irreverence about it, in The Sirens of Titan: A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved. Anaïs Nin, whose wisdom on love knew no bounds, in A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller, 1932-1953: What is love but acceptance of the other, whatever he is. Stendhal in his fantastic 1822 treatise on love: C. There is no safe investment. Lemony Snicket in Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid: E.
10-Minute Yoga ‘Supersets’: Better than Another Hour of Yoga This year, after 15 years of yoga practice and transforming my body, I found myself hitting a plateau. Though my practice regularly involves power moves like jumping forward into Crow Pose and holding Warrior Pose for a long time, my muscle tone seemed to be stuck on autopilot: never decreasing, but never really going to that next level, either. My body, it seems, has become accustomed to the level of my practice. Whether it’s in weight loss or athletic training goals, hitting a plateau is normal. It’s the balancing point that happens any time the body gets used to what you’re asking of it, especially if you don’t ask any more. If you’re not getting out of bed some mornings a little sore and able to pinpoint the muscles you’ve worked the day before, then you might benefit from a shake-up, too. To move past the plateau, I could have just started practicing more. I know what some of you are thinking: “This chick owns a yoga studio and practices a ton … I don’t have that much time.”