Profoundness of Silence is Necessary !

It’s strange but true that in spite of so many sounds and words, silence is considered ultimate. Silence and peace is needed to communicate with your own self. When we dwell deeper in silence, we can listen to our inner guide and follow it. Thus find solutions to many recurring dilemmas and get motivated to tackle them.

“When you learn to read the silence, you will discover beautiful patterns that speak louder than any words written or said aloud”            ~S.L. Alder

When we practice silence consciously, we get attuned to higher vibrations. This restores and multiplies our energy levels. Silence is the awareness of constant moment of ” vibrant present”, not based on past and future. It is coming back home into yourSELF , which lies within. SELF gets purified by silence (maun).

Silence is not Empty, it can provide umpteen answers which we fail to grasp in the endless noise around. It is passive communication.

Silence is the timeless state through which one can understand one’s own eternal truth and find infinite bliss.

Silence is the discovery of your own existence !

How Can Yoga Help In Transforming Your Life ?

The word ‘yoga’ means ‘to add’, ‘to join’ or ‘to unite’. Yoga is a practical aid involving controlled breathing, prescribed body postures and meditations. It originated in ancient India. It has been practiced for thousands of years. The development of yoga started almost 5000 years ago.

The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest available text- the Rig Veda.The vedas were ancient texts containing rituals and mantras to be used by Vedic priests. Over the years yoga has evolved into its modern version. It does not belong to practices of  any particular religion or sect, but is a way of life.

Traditionally yoga was developed and practiced to clear one’s mind and make body flexible, in order to allow the practitioner to sit and meditate without worrying about the stiff back or clogged thought process.

Yoga is not just about the physical exercises like the postures and asanas. There are many more aspects to it. It also involves breathing techniques and meditation which have tremendous  positive effects at the mental and emotional levels. It is a completely natural and  holistic way to achieve optimum health.

Some of the aspects of yoga are:

1. Balancing of physical body leads to balancing of emotions also.
2. Forward bending postures develop understanding and flexibility to situations and people.
3. Backward bending poses help in developing strength and courage to face the setbacks in life.
4. Twisting exercises help by aiding in releasing all fears and inhibitions that block your progress.
5. Pranayama increase the mental stamina.

 

Yoga has been developed into various forms differing on the benefits they provide and main techniques that are focused in that particular form. Some forms like Iyengar yoga, Hatha yoga, Hot yoga, Bikram yoga, Ashtanga yoga and Power yoga have gained lot of popularity over the years due to the illness controlling and treatment solutions they provide.

Even in its modern avatar yoga helps in achieving all round fitness and total personality development. It is a life style to integrate one’s body, soul and mind.

Some of the benefits of yoga are:

*Holistic package for complete fitness and health: yoga helps with pranayam(breathing techniques), meditation and physical poses, thus covering all aspects of health.

*Stress relief: yoga is a stress buster. It helps to dissolve tensions stored in the body and mind. It focuses on living in the present, without worrying about the future or thinking about the past. Yoga makes the mind calm and peaceful.

*Weight loss: There are several postures like sun salutations( surya namaskar) and breathing technique like kapalbhati pranayam that help in loosing extra weight.

*Improved immunity: yogic exercises help in building core strength and stamina, and reduced tension leads to increased protection against illnesses.

*Increased happiness and awareness levels: increased peace of mind results in higher satisfaction levels leading to more happiness. One hour of yoga  a day will make rest of the 23 hours happier. Living in the present moment leads to living with more outside and inside awareness, connecting with your inner self at deeper level.

*Increased energy: In yoga, body is stretched with every posture you perform, leading to muscle increase and higher levels of energy all through the day. Few minutes of regular yoga keep you fresh all day long.

*Better flexibility and posture: Regular practice of yoga tones the muscles and also makes them strong leading to improved flexibility of the whole body .This also leads to  a better posture when you stand, sit or walk.

*Better intuition:meditations increase concentration levels and focus. the intuitive abilities of the practitioner are also significantly enhanced.

On the occasion of international yoga day today, Let us embark on this journey of self, to the self through the self with yoga as a positive aid.

Let us include it in our lifestyle, follow it with sincerity and dedication by:

1. Fixing a goal to practice it regularly and continuously.
2. Choosing a proper time slot and sticking to it.
3. Keep yourself constantly motivated. This can also be done by selecting a yoga Companion to do yoga with or doing it in a group.

 

Yoga transcends culture, age or religion and promotes overall unity.

 

“The highest form of yoga is called Raja Yoga- The king of yogas. So, to have a very deeply, orderly, moral, ethical life, not just merely performing various postures but to lead a very disciplined life, that was the real meaning of the highest form of yoga.” ~ J. Krishna Murti.

 

 

 

Different Types Of Meditation

 

What is Meditation?  Click Here to know more.

Different types of meditation:

1. Concentration meditation
2. Mindfulness meditation
3. Reflective meditation
4. Heart centered meditation
5. Creative meditation

 

(1) Concentration meditation:

Concentration is the central motto of all types of meditation, but in some techniques, main focus is only on building concentration. One needs to train the mind to focus and concentrate on nothingness or on an object in order to cut distractions. This helps in calming the mind. There are many types of concentration meditation techniques which help to gain concentration by overcoming distractions within and outside your mind to sustain mental focus.

Some of them are:-

a) Zen Meditation

b) Transcendental Meditation

c) Om Meditation

d) Samadhi Meditation

e) Chakra Meditation

 

 

(2) Mindfulness meditation:

This is one of the most powerful of all techniques. In this, the emphasis is on cultivating a highly receptive mindful attention towards any object or action within your sphere of influence. This meditation helps to learn to pay attention or be “mindful”. This is a great tool to overcome depression and anxiety. It can also provide pain relief .

Different techniques in this category are -:

a) Vipassana Meditation

b) Deep Breathing Meditation

c) Mindful Breathing Meditation

d) Walking Meditation

e) Sitting Meditation

 

(3) Reflective meditation:-

This type of meditation promotes disciplined thinking. In this, one has to choose a question, topic or theme and reflect upon it or analyse it. Hence, it is also called as analytical meditation. In the initial stages, when your thoughts wander to other topics, you need to discipline your mind to return to the chosen topic or question. In order to discipline the mind, one needs to have strong concentration.

After regular practice, thoughts will not wander off and your mind will be more in control. This is an important type of meditation to achieve calmness of mind. It also provides inner strength and conviction to transform your life by having control on your thoughts and mind .

Some questions you can choose to focus on-:

a) Who am I? What is my true nature?

b) What is the real purpose of my life?

c) What is my role in this universe?

d) How can I help eliminate or reduce suffering of others?

 

(4) Heart Centered meditation:-

This meditation is also know as Heart Chakra Meditation. In this, the focus is on radiance of love, kindness and compassion. Over time, practice of this meditation helps to heal the heart by releasing all fears and sadness by opening the heart chakra and removing any negative energy present there. One feels calm and very peaceful after doing this meditation. The goal is to increase the awareness of Divine Love. This helps to increase the emotional and physical well being of a person. It helps in coping with stressful experiences. 

 

(5) Creative Meditation:-

This form of meditation helps you to cultivate and strengthen different qualities of your mind such as appreciation, joy, compassion, patience, humility, empathy, fearlessness, tenderness and may other. This is done through visualization done as per guidance through an audio or the visual medium. Visualization can help in bringing about major changes. This technique helps to get rid of negativity and problems that act as blocks in achieving the desired state of self.

 

Generally, the meditations which are commonly  practiced are a combination of two or more of the above mentioned techniques.

Hope this helps you to know about different ways of meditation. Choose the technique which you are comfortable doing and which resonates with you. This will be the most beneficial and effective for you.

Learning any meditation under the guidance of a knowledgeable teacher is the best way to experience it. Meditation will definitely help you to Refresh and reinvent yourself.

 

I would love to know your meditation experiences. Please share them in the comment section below !

Overcome The Setbacks !

 

We always get into something thinking it to be the best. Later, if we get into trouble or if the outcome is not according to our anticipated success or fulfillment, we feel crushed with regret.

We keep thinking and brooding about the negative instance in form of mistake for a long time. It even pops up in our mind without invitation to create unwanted ripples time and again.We feel helpless and hopeless. We seem to be lost on our way to the planned destination. These flashbacks to the experience, traumatise us often in the quietness of late hour.

Why is it so?

The reason could be our attachment to the ego and its inconsequential desires. Our ego feels good when it’s desires are getting fulfilled. When this does not happen, it tends to deviate towards sadness and depression. We get disappointed and regret our decisions. Our mental web of thoughts traps us and consumes us.

Also, our mind keeps going back to what has hurt our self-esteem. Certain negative experiences drain us emotionally by affecting us mentally and physically. We all have situations that go wrong. Setbacks or mistakes are inevitable in everyone’s life. Life does not always turn up the way we expect. But it is sheer  ignorance to slip into remorse again and again. As someone has rightly said “Worry is a misuse of power of imagination”.

How do we take ourselves forward by forgetting the mistakes or setbacks?

The right way would be to see things in a positive light. Realize that mistakes are part and parcel of life. Every mistake is an experience which come to teach us a lesson. At the moment, it might seem to be most disappointing and regretful but over the course of time it imparts the most valuable lesson. It might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to us. We should learn from errors of judgement. If we fail, we can always try again in a much better way.

Be objective to the real situation. Retrain your mind to focus on the best that has come out of the situation. Chose the thoughts with awareness to meet our need of healthy living. Our brain needs help to defeat the negative inner chatter. By maintaining a journal of our negative thoughts, we can find out what triggers them. Stop negative self-talk as soon as it starts.

Try not to over-exaggerate the feeling of sadness. Consider it just a feeling like any other. Stop wallowing in self pity.  Thoughts are not always facts; they can be just figments of our over active imagination and could be way far from reality at times. The more you focus on the negative thoughts, the more power you give them.

Practice forgiveness and gratitude to be really positive. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. We are human, not God. Forgive others, to maintain the peace of your mind. Let past remain in the past. Don’t let it control your present or future. Stop overthinking. What’s done is done! Life goes on.

Believe, you can do better in the future. Turn setbacks into fuel for self growth.

REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK!

 

Inevitable

HAPPINESS IS YOUR TRUE NATURE !

Three Day Quote Challenge-Day 3

 

Quotes are like mini books. A few lines convey lot of information and sometimes it is very profound.

DAY 3 QUOTE :

 

 

Every one in the world is seeking happiness but it seems to be ever elusive. Are we looking for it in the wrong places and directions? OR Is it that we are confusing happiness with pleasure?

In this day and age when hype and hypocrisy are almost the norm, most often we look for instant gratification. We assume that it will make us happy. We look for constant external stimulation to keep us in perpetual state of happiness and feel overjoyed by the external gratification we receive.  BUT this feeling is short-lived,temporary. We get engulfed and entangled in the ever expanding web of negative pride, false flattery, become trapped in our false identities and exhaust ourselves in the rat race.

And that leads us to the burning question : what causes this?

Most often the problem is the subliminal messages-the mainstream media, the wider culture, society and the marketers beam into our psyche. We become victims of borrowed perceptions. We start believing the fake claims that are made although they are false, contrived and manipulated.  

We live in an overwhelmed world with more than we can handle. We soon become aware of the imperfections of the material world we inhabit.

Let us stop for a few moments, to consider and reflect ! To cast aside illusions and get to the heart of reality. True happiness lies in the satisfaction when we are connected to our inner core, when we are in total sync with our true nature; we have to look within us and ponder deeply. External gratification is only an” Escape Mechanism” from the dissatisfaction and confusion in the deeper recesses of our mind, and that is no match for true happiness.

Let us find some middle ground which is not too idealistic for the real world and search for our corner of eternal, long lasting happiness. I am sure it lies somewhere within each one of us. To recount my own experience, i have had short glimpses of this nectar, at times, during meditations…when time almost stands still, it is a blissful state and i am consciously aware of that moment. I long to revisit that experience again and again…it is so intense. May be this is the stuff which qualifies as true happiness. I am still working my way towards it !

 

What do you think ?  What have your experiences been ? I’m  really interested in knowing, please share !

 

 

The Rules Are:

1.  Post three consecutive days.
2.  You can pick one or three quotes per day.
3.  Challenge three different bloggers per day.

 

Today,being the last day of the challenge i leave it open to all the bloggers who ever wish to take up this activity. I want to share this wonderful opportunity with all the bloggers in my list.

I sincerely thank Stella from giggles and tales for nominating me !

Dear bloggers- i hope you will take up and enjoy this activity.

Have fun and happy blogging 🙂

 

image courtesy : facebook (public domain)

 

Three Day Quote Challenge-Day 2

DAY TWO OF THE QUOTE CHALLENGE

 

Hi friends !

Quotes are like mini books. A few lines convey lot of information and sometimes it is very profound. They are easy to remember and hence follow.I am looking forward to posting quotes and nominating bloggers for this activity.

 

DAY TWO QUOTE :

IF YOU CAN BELIEVE IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT.

Several great achievers have said that your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words,  your words become your actions, actions become habits, habits become your values and your values ultimately become your destiny.

 Thoughts have lot of power. Many universal laws are based on this premise, like the law of attraction and law of manifestation. When we worry, we use our immense power of thoughts and imagination negatively. WE imagine the worst, and as we imagine it, we invite it to us. When we are positive and excited about something, we imagine the best, we invite the good and the best into our life.

 

I sincerely thank Stella from giggles and tales for nominating me !

The Rules Are:

1.  Post three consecutive days.
2.  You can pick one or three quotes per day.
3.  Challenge three different bloggers per day.

 

My day 2 nominees are the awesome bloggers –

Aesantos

Stacilys

Sheryl

Dear Nominated bloggers please give this activity a try. You’ll love it !

 

image source: internet public domain resources.

Quote Me

RELIVING THOSE MOMENTS!

If I Could Turn Back Time

If you could return to the past to relive a part of your life, either to experience the wonderful bits again, or to do something over, which part of you life would you return to? Why? #DailyPrompt

 

Some moments become the most positive influence in our life which we want to revisit again and again.We cherish the lessons and gifts these moments brought us- forever.

Sometimes unfounded fears are the reasons which stop us from taking those chances that you lament later and revisit those moments once in a while .

We fail to understand why certain events happened the way they did.We  tend to analyze and over-analyze them looking for some plausible conclusions and reasons even after decades have passed by.

 

 

 

 

 

Was it all really so beautiful as we visualize it in our mind’s eye after ages or is it so only in the illusions we build as a result of filtering mechanism applied to our stock of memories .

As we grow and become more mature,we are armed with new understanding of issues providing us new view-points.Then, are our interpretations about the past accurate and exact or influenced by selective perceptual defense mechanism.Thus presenting before us the rosy visions we want to imagine?

Perhaps yes ; Perhaps no!

Image courtesy: internet sources

If I Could Turn Back Time