Help Your Anxiety & Stress With ॐ Indian Yoga Music

Your Stress Reduced Through Meditation & Exercise

Stress relief - Meditation

Even a complete beginner can use mediation 
for stress relief, and with some practice meditation can become an essential tool for 
completely releasing stress as well.

What exactly is meditation? Depending on who you ask, meditation can be anything from a breathing exercise, visualization exercise, relaxation exercise, emotional introspection, deep thought to even faking meditation by assuming a stereotypical posture (this one is not recommended).

The most basic form of meditation is simply to pay attention to your thoughts. You will notice that thinking is not linear - thoughts are jumping all over the place. Noticing that and 'pruning' unnecessary thoughts is a basic meditation technique. If you combine this kind of calming of the mind with taking deep regular breaths, you got yourself a nice tool for stress relief.

Advanced forms of meditation against stress include visualizing stress (as a way of giving form to your tension and fears), and then imagining a way of releasing it. This kind of visualization exercise establishes a connection between your emotions and your mind, and can show you ways you can use to deal with the stressful situation.

Stress relief - Exercise

Physical exercise contributes to keeping your body healthy, but how can it provide stress relief?

Many times stress is caused by having too much energy and no outlet - the mind then decides to spend that energy on worrying over something and converts it into stress. In this case, physical exercise channels that energy into a constructive activity, and exercise becomes something akin to meditation which helps prune away dangling thoughts.

In case there is a lack of energy (maybe if stress lasted too long and resulted in a state of depression), exercise can help build up motivation and focus.

Exercise is about reconnecting with your body, becoming more aware of your rhythms, limitation and capabilities. It puts your mind back into HERE and NOW, this point in space-time where you are yourself (and not the things you stress about).

Exercise also makes other forms of stress relief easier: after exercise it is easier to relax, meditate, or at least have a good night's sleep.

 Mens sana in corpore sano 

- it is much more wholesome, natural and easier to have a healthy mind in a healthy body than to have only either one.

by Dawn Ardent: source

Video: The Science of Yoga (Part 5 - Presence)

The Science Of Yoga - PART 5

1. YOU ARE NOT YOUR PAST!

YOUR past thoughts and emotions 'hold you back'...

2. Your past is just a 'thought habit', which you can break :)

3. YOUR NEURAL PATHWAYS (thought patterns in your brain) of past events can be kept alive by habitually thinking of the past...

...so you need to overcome your mind and your emotional patterns 

to become more present!   

4. Resisting these thought patterns means these neural pathways weaken and this helps you in the present moment.

5. You need to break habits to break the past

6. Deep AMA or 'deep past emotions' need to be 'let go of'.

7. With the correct environment and energy in your body 

(mentioned in previous videos)... 

...YOUR PRANA or life force is able to clear away the AMA (your 'past' toxins)

8. YOUR physical and mental environment within the body needs to be 'clear'....to enable you to experience BEING PRESENT :)  

   

Video: The Science of Yoga (Part 4 - Diet)

The Science Of Yoga - PART 4

Video: The Science of Yoga (Part 3 - Addiction)

The Science Of Yoga - PART 3

1. Dopamine is nature's way of 'making you feel good'.

2. These days dopamine is found in addictions to food, 

your devices (mobiles etc), chemicals...tricks the brain into thinking everything is ok.

3. It is also found in your fantasies....which gives off the same feelings.

This is not always a good thing...

4. To be less driven by excitement/and or addictions paves the way to your much higher energies.

Video: The Science of Yoga (Part 2 - Your Posture)

The Science Of Yoga - PART 2

1. Your bodily posture has a profound effect on your state....
...your nadis are channels running through the body carrying a life force called prana & if these nadis are kept aligned (posture) then the flow of prana would be smooth & unhindered, contributing to your overall health!

2. Your mind & body become a single continuum - they balance each other through yoga.

3. Your breath stimulates the vegus nerve, which in turn turns on your parasympathetic relaxation response.

Video: The Science of Yoga (Part 1 - Meditation)

The Science Of Yoga - PART 1

1. Brain plasticity: your brain can change with meditation. 

Such as....

i) ...your amadala  - which processes fear and anxiety is reduced in size & activity.

ii) ... your grey matter in your sensory regions increases, which in turn enhances your  sense perception.

2. Your thoughts are not real.

3. Recent success through cognitive thought therapy uses the the same principle as meditation -

...to see the falseness in your own repetitive thinking. These thoughts are an interpretation of what's going on, not the reality.

Yoga Benefits

Understanding Yoga Benefits

Although, started in India over 5,000 years, 

yoga is ideal for any person. 

Of major importance are the benefits 

that come with it. 

If you have been skeptical of joining yoga, 

here are some benefits that might 

motivate you to join it. 

The benefits are mental, physical and biochemical.

Mental benefits

One of the major mental benefits of yoga is that it results to stress reduction. 

Since you require great amounts of concentration when exercising, this makes you forget the troubles in your life therefore the stress levels go down.

Another reason why the exercise reduces stress levels is because it lowers cortisol levels that increase stress levels. 

Yoga also increases the levels of serotonin that aids in lowering stress levels. 

Research has shown that by repeatedly engaging in yoga, you tend to not only decrease stress levels, but you also have high self esteem and low levels of anxiety. 

You also tend to eliminate self-depreciating thoughts.

Physical benefits

Yoga has many physical benefits. 

Some of the benefits include:

Strength

In yoga, you are required to hold your weight against gravity-this makes you stronger. The exercise also incorporates vigorous exercises such as power yoga and ashtanga that make you build on muscle thus you become stronger. Other than your body being strong, your lungs also become strong. This is due to the rigorous breathing exercises of yoga. When your lungs are strong, you have more endurance during exercises and sports.

Flexibility

Some of yoga postures require you to move most

of your body joints. In the process, you became 

more flexible. 

There is no one who can't improve his or her

flexibility with the exercises; therefore, you should

not say that you are too old to engage in yoga.

When you engage in the exercises, your

body releases lactic acid that is usually clogged in your

body resulting to pain, fatigue, tension and stiffness.

When lactic acid is released from your body, you

became more flexible regardless of your age.

Posture alignment -

- increase in strength and flexibility automatically gives you a good posture. Due to strength and flexibility, you have a strong core and as a result you have a better posture. When sitting, you sit straight and when walking, you walk tall. A good posture is not only attractive, but it also results into heightening your self esteem.

Biochemical benefits

Some of the biochemical benefits of yoga include: decrease in sodium, glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol levels. The exercise also aids in lowering the levels of LDL-Cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and heightens the levels of HDL-cholesterol (good cholesterol). This aids in lowering your risks to heart diseases and stroke.

These are some of the benefits of yoga. 

Are they enough to motivate you to join the next yoga class?

by Kumar Shah: source

Your Meditating Brain!

During YOUR meditation process....

1. ..YOUR brain's active 'choppy' BETA WAVES gives way to the natural rhythm of your calmer ALPHA WAVES

2. ..YOU will become more experienced & you may start to produce GAMMA WAVES, which are associated with a deeper concentration

3. ..YOUR PRE MOTOR CORTEX & YOUR INSULAR CORTEX begin to fire up ....these are responsible for your attention, awareness & your emotions...

..meditation makes these stronger!

4. ..YOUR CEREBRAL CORTEX will become thicker than the norm

5. ..YOU can reduce stress, improve your mood and it may help with anxiety and depression

~ Mike 

Your Meditation & It's Benefits

Meditation Benefits

Nowadays it seems that even the mainstream magazines are discussing the numerous benefits of meditation. What was once an activity reserved for the eclectic in our culture has now taken a strong foothold in the fabric of Western society.

But there are still many of us who would scratch our heads if asked to explain meditation. What is it exactly? To meditate means to focus your thoughts on something with the purpose of quieting the incessant chatter of the mind. If done properly, your brainwaves reach a level of consciousness called alpha state, and it is in this state that your mind and body begin to heal.

The healing benefits of meditation are threefold - physical, psychological, and spiritual. The meditation benefits touted the most in our culture are the physiological benefits that can be tested and proven. For example, due to a steady increase in coronary disease over the last few decades, many individuals are turning to meditation as a way of improving their heart health. The effects of meditation when practiced regularly include reduced blood pressure and cholesterol, which means an overall decrease in your heart's workload. Less work for your heart means it will be pumping for many years to come.

Other meditation effects on the body include a decrease in chronic pain and stress and better breathing due to improved lung and heart efficiency. Some studies also suggest that meditation may help those with sleep disorders or even those who suffer from autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia.

Other benefits of meditation are those which take place in the mind, and sometimes these are equally as important as the physical benefits. Psychological benefits of meditation include improved creativity, learning ability, and memory. And, let's face it - who doesn't need a little help with their memory? Studies also show an increase in overall happiness and emotional stability, while feelings of depression, anxiety and irritability tend to decrease.

In addition to the physical and psychological effects of meditation, we cannot discount the deep spiritual implications of this ancient art. For centuries enlightened cultures have sought the spiritual benefits of meditation and have discovered its awesome ability to momentarily separate us from our material needs and desires and put us in contact with something greater. We can use meditation to open up our minds to receive deeper wisdom, which helps to lead us down the path of self-improvement or even self-enlightenment.

The best part is that we don't have to be a shaman, or Gandhi, or attend a Buddhist temple to reap these spiritual meditation benefits. In fact, there exists a number of ways in which people like you and I can partake in the physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits of meditation.

Mindfulness, transcendental, and breathing meditation are just a sampling of the types of meditation you can use to bring your mind into a relaxed state of healing. In mindfulness meditation we allow thoughts and feelings to enter our mind, but we do not judge them. We practice living fully in the present moment. With transcendental meditation, we use a mantra, which we repeat in order to quiet our thoughts. Breathing meditation harnesses the rhythmic power of our own breath. Feel inspired to investigate other types. As long as the form of meditation benefits the body, mind, and soul, it is useful.

Feel overwhelmed by your choices? You can also purchase meditation tapes in order to experience the positive effects of meditation. Let an expert guide you through the process. Or, look for local churches or meditation centers that offer classes. Whatever form of meditation you choose, remember you must practice it regularly in order to experience the incredible benefits of meditation.






by Jamie Lynn: source