Yoga props have some use, but often they are relied upon too much, even to the point of hindering one’s progression in yoga.

What is change in America going to look like? Will Barack Obama deliver what America really needs, or are we still heading down the same, unfortunate road?

Recognizing that yoga is a life-long practice, the benefits and changes achieved with yoga require patience, respectful observance, and consistency. Without these basic elements, one’s yoga practice often strays, losses focus, and lacks holistic results. This article discusses some of principles behind these basic elements and offers tips in creating a fulfilling yoga program.

Principle of Progressive Overload

In any physical activity or exercise program, the general concept of ‘progressive overload’ should be observed. The body is highly adaptable and settles into the dominant state it is placed in. If one is sedentary and pursuing unhealthy lifestyle habits, the body readily collapses into blockages, loses healthy tissues, and shifts into states of disease.

Likewise, when one introduces yoga or other forms of healthy exercise into the body, the body (muscles, bones, organs, nervous system) will adapt to this conditioning. Progressive overload is where one mindfully introduces holistic ‘stressors’ on the musculoskeletal system. To define ‘stressors’, this is where one would apply gradual increases in intensity or duration of an exercise to encourage the musculoskeletal system to adapt and improve. These adaptations occur at the microscopic level, so one can then imagine that only slight increases are needed and should be applied to avoid over stressing the body’s systems.

How is progressive overload applied to yoga?

In our yoga practice, we aim to heal the body with our practice and not stress it to points of injury and overwhelming fatigue. We can, however, gently add slight increases in depth or holding of postures. We can incorporate slightly more challenging variations of poses or transitions. Whenever we apply this overload principle, one must shed the Ego and listen fully. Am I able to retain postural integrity, control, and fullness of breath with this increase? How does my body feel the next day-no discernable soreness, fatigue, or decrease range of motion due to stiffness?

Here are some tips to generating a consistent yoga practice that follows the progressive overload principle:

*Know your appropriate level. Starting off (or returning to) with high level practice without prior experience can shock the musculoskeletal system by going past the desired overload effects and into injury. Begin easy and move forward gradually. Many high level yoga programs are marketed as “suitable for everyone”. This is not true. One would not go from being sedentary to suddenly running a marathon. If you are a beginner, practice like one-learn the fundamentals through introductory programs and monitor how your systems receive the gradual increases in practice depth.

*Apply the concept of cross training. By doing on type of yoga practice/style, the body develops memory and adapts often to a point where progression slows or ceases. With traditional exercise, one is encouraged to ‘mix up’ their program placing different exercises in one’s routine or changing the order of exercises. This systematic reorganizing does not allow the body to settle into a stagnant state and can be beneficial in preventing overuse injuries. In yoga, consider reordering the postures and flows and try different styles. Adding changes and variety will also offer inspiration and motivation that will promote better consistency.

*Modification and Rest days. When we continuously stress the body with holistic overload, we need to also schedule consistent rest periods or modify the yoga practice routines so key muscle groups and joints receive recovery time. When one stresses a particular muscle group, it is commonly accepted that this muscle group requires at least 24 hours of rest. The adaptations at the microscopic level need time to set in. Without this rest period, the tissues can develop overuse/chronic injuries, prolonged fatigue, and atrophy (muscle loss). With yoga, consider how you can schedule your daily/weekly classes so they target key structures while also giving proper rest.

*Be purposeful with your practice. Make a set schedule of your practice on a calendar. Make your yoga practice a true priority. Invite your family or friends to participate with you as this will create a great support system for consistency and growth.

*Get inspired. Look for workshops and other available programs that will introduce new, interesting concepts to your yoga practice. Yoga is about learning and growing. If your practice has been primarily hatha/physically based, consider trying more meditation and/or breathing (pranayama) programs. One is often amazed at how a simple, new technique or application can readily transform one’s motivation and exploration.

Consistency is key in one’s yoga program. Through this consistency, embrace the moment and how the whole system exists immediately. It is perfect to have stiffness and limitations. One can work around injuries and health conditions-wellness can be pursued by everyone at some level. But positive change requires regular application and patience. Time is on your side when holistic intention and harmony are brought into your yoga practice.

Related Articles:
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Is Hot Yoga Right For Me?
Yoga Workout: Conflict of East Meets West

Share This

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY & WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST FOR 2009!!!!!!

Mastery of Meditation & Yoga now has a worldwide audience and readers span all continents and come from all corners of our beautiful planet. What is interesting about humanity is that regardless of where we live and what culture we belong to, we all share very similar problems, difficulties, desires and goals. This is actually a wonderful fact to contemplate and meditate on, as doing so would lead you to understand the concept of sharing a common human mind and would open the door to compassion and sensitivity, as you realize that basically we are one people.

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Visualization Technique

How to Manifest Your Dreams & Desires

As we are about to ring in the new year, for many it is time to evaluate their life and make resolutions to help bring about positive change.  This is a very healthy process and, if done correctly, can be instrumental in helping you uplift your life and bring about the changes you desire and dream about.

I have often pointed out the power of the mind when it comes to manifesting your desires and creating the reality you wish for.  In addition, in the very popular article, 4 Key Laws of Manifesting Desire if You Absolutely Must, I detailed the guidelines to use in the event you have desires and dreams you wish to manifest.  What I would like to do in this article, is give you a very practical visualization technique to help you manifest these desires that you have settled upon.

There are many powerful visualization techniques and visualization meditations which you can wield to help you create your reality, and the one I will discuss below is one of the simplest, yet most effective techniques out of all these.

Simple Visualization Technique to Manifest Desires:

Write down your desires and goals on a piece of paper and keep it handy for review, first thing in the morning, as much as possible throughout the day, and last thing at night.  That’s the core aspect of this technique.

This visualization technique has many advantages.

1. Clarify Your Desires & Help You Visualize:

In having to contemplate and write down your desires, you will have to spend some time digging into them more deeply.  This process is very helpful in helping you see exactly what it is that you want.  Then having to articulate it and write it down, will help you further refine and define the desires, thus giving the mind a very clear picture of what it needs to manifest for you.  That is correct.  Once the mind knows and sees what it is that you want, it will help make that dream a reality.

2. Enforce Your Desires & Give You Willpower:

Writing down your desires and keeping them handy for review, helps re-enforce what it is you want to accomplish.  This will serve as a constant reminder to you as you go through your day and help you make choices that promote the accomplishment of these goals.  This is very handy in helping you prioritize your tasks and giving you the willpower to overcome past obstacles and pitfalls.  In addition, the mind, being well aware of what it is that you are looking to realize, will work with life to help you.

3. Help You Stick to It:

That piece of paper will not only serve as a daily reminder, but it will also help keep you on track after the initial passion starts to wane.

4. Allow the Mind to Meditate & Contemplate the Desires:

Without making it an obsession, reviewing your desires from time to time gives the mind a chance to contemplate and visualize what it is that your are looking to manifest.  This contemplation and meditation on the desires are key in sending a clear message to your mind about what it is that you wish to have manifest in your life.

Example of My List of Desires:

Here is the list of goals and desires I put together some time ago.  The list is to help serve as an example for you.

1. Establish a strong personal yoga and meditation practice.

2. Have excellent and vibrant health.

3. Enjoy a happy relationship with my wife, family and friends.

4. Continue to develop Mastery of Meditation & Yoga and align my career with it more.

5. Have the freedom and courage to live my true life.

Final Thoughts:

I want to take this opportunity to wish all the readers who have already entered 2009 a very happy and healthy new year.  I wish the new year helps you realize all your dreams and desires .

—
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Benefits of Meditation for Young People

Benefits of Meditation for Students

Have kids in school?  Specially kids in high school?  Are you a student in school, high school or college and wondering if meditation will benefit you?  Well wonder no longer, meditation is absolutely fantastic for young people and in this article I want to discuss some very interesting research that was conducted on this very topic; benefits of meditation for young people and students.

The study originally was intended to determine the affect of meditation on blood pressure.  Students with high blood pressure were taught meditation and another group, with high blood pressure, were taught how to lower blood pressure, but not taught meditation.  The results were emphatic and clearly demonstrated that meditation significantly reduced blood pressure in all situations.

This study was then expanded to measure the affects of meditation on other aspects of student life, and young people from six different schools were included in the new study.  Here are the findings of this research.

10 Amazing Benefits of Meditation for Students:

1. Improved Concentration: Students were able to concentrate better and had more mental focus.

2. Reduced Blood Pressure:  This reduction in blood pressure was regardless of whether the students were facing a stressful situation, like an examination, or not.

3. Decreased Absenteeism & Tardiness:  In addition, meditation also reduced behavior problems.
    
4. Better Grades: Students felt they were doing better with their homework and school work as well.

5. Improved Interpersonal Relationships:  This included relationships at home, such as with siblings and parents.

6. More Confidence:  One of the most important qualities to develop for children, students and young adults.

7. Better Sleep:  The importance of proper sleep in being understood more and more in today’s hectic sleep deprived world.

8. Headache Relief:  Always a good thing .

9. Calmness:  Same as blood pressure above, it helped the students who learned meditation remain calm even during stressful times.  This is important in all aspects of life I feel.  In sports, interviews, tests and the other challenging situations life inevitably brings forth, remaining calm is the key to success, health and happy living.

10. Sharper Brains:  I have often alluded to meditation helping the brain function better.  This and other research that looks at brain imaging, etc, is now validating this point as well.

How Much Meditation is Needed:

The next logical question is how much meditation is needed in order to obtain these benefits.  The answer is as little as 10-15 minutes, 2 times per day was the amount of meditation practiced by the students during the study.  Certainly worth the time, given the enormous benefits one gets.

What Kind of Meditation is Needed:

Simple meditation to quiet the mind was all that was used during this study.  So I would suggest using Zen Meditation Technique for that.  Another suggestion would be using the structure and meditations given in the Beginner’s Meditation Class | Learn How to Meditate.

Final Thoughts:

Here is the link to the original article with the details of the study: Meditation Benefits Abound for Schoolchildren, Study Finds.

Finally, it is most important to remember that mediation ultimately leads you to Self-realization.  Awakens you to your divine, infinite nature.  What can possibly be more important than getting a head start on that journey during your younger days? 

—
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Effort in Zen Meditation Practice

Zen Teachings of Effortless Effort

Zen Meditation is without a doubt one of the greatest tools for enlightenment and Self-realization.  This meditation technique is simple in it’s design, watch your breath being it’s core requirement, but fully appreciating Zen Meditation and Zen teachings requires a vast and open mind.

One aspect of Zen meditation or Zen teachings that often lead to confusion is the idea of effortless effort, or the role of effort in one’s spiritual practice and meditation practice.  In the Zen bible , Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, master Shunryu Suzuki explains how one should approach effort within the context of Zen Meditation.  Here is that excerpt…

Zen Master Suzuki on Effort in Zen Meditation

Book:     Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Author:   Shunryu Suzuki

Chapter: Mind Weeks (Pg 37)

Strictly speaking, any effort we make is not good for our practice because it creates waves in our mind.  It is impossible, however, to attain absolute calmness of our mind without any effort.  We must make some effort, but we must forget ourselves in the effort we make.  In this realm there is no subjectivity or objectivity.  Our mind is just calm, without even any awareness.  In this unawareness, every effort and every idea and thought will vanish.  So it is necessary for us to encourage ourselves and to make an effort up to the last moment, when all effort disappears.  You should keep your mind on your breathing until you are not aware of your breathing.

We should try to continue our effort forever, but we should not expect to reach some stage when we will forget all about it.  We should just try to keep our mind on our breathing.  That is our actual practice.  That effort will be refined more and more while you are sitting.  At first the effort you make is quite rough and impure, but by the power of practice the effort will become purer and purer.  When your effort becomes pure, your body and mind become pure.  This is the way we practice Zen.  Once you understand our innate power to purify ourselves and our surroundings, you can act properly, and you will learn from those around you, and you will become friendly with others.  This is the merit of Zen practice.  But the way of practice is just to be concentrated on your breathing with the right posture and with great, pure effort.  This is how we practice Zen.

Analysis of Effort in Zen Meditation & Zen Teachings:

There are some very nice points that master Suzuki makes above and I would just like to highlight those for you.

1. Zen Meditation Technique:

Zen meditation requires you to simply remain concentrated on your breathing with right posture and right attitude.  Simple to do, with life transforming results.  For more details on this technique, you can refer to my article Zen Meditation Technique.

2. Zen Meditation Works Over Time:

One important aspect of Zen meditation, which is also a challenge for the impatient, is that this technique works on you slowly over time.  In fact the changes are almost imperceptible, although if you stick to it long enough, they are absolutely profound.  The end result of Zen meditation is that it transforms you into a purified, joyous, compassionate and wise being.

3. Effort to End all Efforts:

This is how I like to view effort in the context of meditation and spiritual growth.  Collect all your energies, all your desires and put them together to make one big, great, pure effort.  With this effort then immerse yourself passionately into meditation and spiritual practice.  This one great effort will then lead you to the place of effortless living.  Call this place nirvana, enlightenment, tao, heaven, moksha, satori, whatever. 

The bottom line is just find a way to meditate, then let meditation take care of the rest.

If you are new to meditation you may wish to sign up the the Free Online Beginner’s Meditation Class, which incorporates Zen Meditation in it.

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Kundalini Yoga Exercise for Flexibility

Yoga Pose to Help Reproduction & Digestion

Kundalini Yoga’s Modified Wheel Pose is certainly an exercise worth including as part of your daily yoga routine.  It is an integral part of mine.  This exercise is called Kandhar Asana in Hatha Yoga and also goes by a few other names in various yoga circles.  Since it is often used as a modification to Wheel Pose (see Advanced Yoga Technique for Total Body Workout), and offers many of that position’s benefits without the same degree of difficulty, I find the name Modified Wheel Pose most suitable for it.

Modified Wheel Pose, as mentioned above, is part of both Kundalini Yoga and Hatha Yoga and so here on Mastery of Meditation & Yoga, it will be part of the following 2 free online e-books: Free Hatha Yoga Poses & Free Online Kundalini Yoga Exercises.

One of the best aspects of Kundalini Yoga, and yoga practice in general, is the vast array of modifications that poses offer, so that almost all of us can do some variation of the posture and still enjoy many of the benefits that the exercise bestows.  Modified Wheel Pose is a perfect example of this.  Not only is it a modification of Full Wheel Pose, but it also has a modified version for those who are just beginning yoga and find the posture hard to come into.

Below I have given illustrations of both, the modified version of Modified Wheel Pose and the full version of Modified Wheel Pose.  This yoga exercise offers many important benefits, such as increasing flexibility, promoting better digestion and toning female reproductive organs for improved function, and I discuss these in more details in the practice section below.

Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose

Illustration #1 Modification of Modified Wheel Pose

Illustration #2 Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose

Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose:

a. Instructions for practicing Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose:

• Start by lying on your back.  Have your feet hip distance apart and bring your heels up against your buttocks.

• Reach forward with your arms and grasp you ankles.

• Now raise your torso off the ground, by pushing up with you navel and hips.  You should feel a stretch in you upper thighs and in your back and spine.

• Try to stretch up such that your chest nears your chin and you feel a good stretch in your lower back.  Continue to hold your ankles throughout and keep the feet flat on the floor.

• Hold this position.  In the Kundalini Yoga version the eyes are closed (Illustration #2 above).  You can have them open or closed in the Hatha Yoga version.

• Once you come into the final posture, either do Long Deep Breathing, or do Kundalini Yoga Breath of Fire.

b. Duration for Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose:

• 15 seconds - 5 minutes.

c. Benefits of Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose:

• Excellent to build and increase flexibility of your back and spine.
• Also promotes flexibility in your shoulders and upper thighs.
  
• Stretches the entire abdominal region and helps improve your digestive system.
  
• Stretches the female reproductive organs, massaging and toning them.  Improves conditions related to these organs.
  
• Strengthens your legs and thighs.
• Expands your respiratory system and improves lung capacity.
• Activates and help heal the Vishuddhi Chakra (Throat Charka) and promotes healthy thyroid function.
  

d. Practice Tips for Kundalini Yoga Modified Wheel Pose:

• Modified Version of Modified Wheel Pose:  If you find the full version of Modified Wheel Pose too difficult, I suggest starting with the modification to this exercise which is demonstrated in illustration #1 above.  In this modification, interlace your fingers as shown and push down against the floor with your arms as you thrust up with your hips and navel.  All else is the same as the full version, except that you don’t grasp your ankles in the modified version.  This modified version will also bestow many of the same benefits and you can use it to slowly increase your flexibility and strength, until you can do the full version.

• Be careful of you back, knees and neck when doing this pose.  Remember to not strain too much and slowly build up the pose to the full version.  Also, increase your time gradually and you can take breaks in between as well.

Online Kundalini Yoga Kriyas Using Modified Wheel Pose:

1. You can add Modified Wheel Pose to your yoga routine to help increase your flexibility, and improve your digestive and reproductive system.  Please use the article, 6 Guidelines on How to Create Yoga Sets to help guide you in doing this.

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Meditation, Yoga & Spiritual Growth Articles

Meditation, Yoga & Personal Development Carnival

Welcome to the 24th edition of the Meditation, Yoga and Personal Development carnival.  This is a great edition, with a ton of great articles.  There is lots of stuff on how to meditation, create and improve your yoga practice, sex, diet & weight-loss, law of attraction, and much much more.

For my fellow active stumblers if you are interested in networking on Stumble Upon, please go ahead and reach out to me.  My stumble upon id is http://anmolmehta.stumbleupon.com.

Please link back to this carnival from your Blog, as well as submit the carnival to your favorite social bookmarking sites (Stumble Upon is preferred).  More link love the better for everyone :-).

Featured Articles:

A Must Read…

Kara-Leah presents How to build a home yoga practice posted at Prana Flow NZ, saying, "As a yoga teacher, my goal is to inspire my students to practice yoga at home. It’s great when people get themselves to classes three times a week, but the true benefits of yoga really start to unfold when you commit to just showing up on your mat by yourself and seeing what happens."

Very Funny…

Chris presents Five Reasons Why Sitting Meditation is the Ultimate Self-Defense posted at Martial Development.  

Very Inspiring…

NITHYANANDAM.NET presents NithyAnanda | SOCIETY.RELIGION.SPIRITUALITY posted at NithyAnanda ॐ, saying, "We are afraid to throw ourselves into the unfolding newness of every minute. We feel cozy by going on repeating the same thing everyday."

Great Little Story…

Chris Cade presents The Barber Shop: Spiritual Story and Reflection posted at Spiritual Stories Blog, saying, "Short but sweet :)" 

Meditation

Dawn Abraham Life Coach presents Meditation - Made- Simple posted at Qualified Life Coach.Com, saying, "Do you feel as if you’re one of the only people who can’t seem to get meditation? Do you hear noise in your head keeping you from meditating? Does just the idea make you nervous? I understand how you feel. Today I can say I don’t feel that way, but at one point I felt all of those things."

Valeria presents 10 Benefits of Meditation and How to Do It posted at Timeless Lessons.

Lisa Spinelli presents Snap Sunday Sermon - Seven Revelations on The Power of Conscious Breathing. | Greener Pastures: Personal Finance posted at Greener Pastures: Personal Finance.

Yoga

Nilendu Bhattacharya presents Yoga Insight - How To Make Progress In Your Asana? posted at Health Through Yoga and Related Practices., saying, "This article discusses techniques which can help you to go deeper into your favorite pose."

Health and Wellbeing

Akemi presents What Is Spiritual Healing? posted at Yes to Me.

Relax presents How to Become a Sleeping Winner posted at The Wise Curve, saying, "Get good quality sleep with Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and proper matress + pillows."

Naren Ghimire presents 5 Golden Sutras to Be In Sex — Sex, Meditation and Spirituality posted at Spiritual Pub, saying, "A list of five golden sutras that will make sex a joyful, divine experience, not just an act of momentary fun or release of energy."

Joel Gray presents Dieting Tips for the Holiday Season posted at Health Tips 101.

Personal Development

Chris Edgar presents The Waiting Mindset: A Mindful Productivity Tool posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, "Most of us have had the experience, from time to time, of being “in the flow” or “in the zone” as we worked—focusing on the task in front of us with total calm and concentration. Unfortunately, most of the time, we aren’t in this state while we’re working. How can we enter this state of peace and peak productivity more often? One approach we can use involves entering a mindset similar to the one we’re in when we’re waiting for something to happen."

Kathleen Gaga presents It’s my judgment, so it must be right! posted at Daily Awareness, saying, "One of the most fascinating lies we tell ourselves is if we believe something to be true, right or so, it must be. The fact is, much of what we try to convince ourselves and others as true is often a matter of judgment based on ego. If something is happening that we simply don’t approve of, then obviously it is wrong. Or so the thinking for many people goes. Learn a simple technique for minimizing judgment."

Nadege presents Be faithful in the little and you’ll be faithful in the much posted at Clearly Envision.

Louis Burns presents Crafting Mental Movies For Others posted at NLP Marketing Blog, saying, "This article is about not only visualizing your own goals but the experience you want other people to have as well."

OrnaRoss presents How Free is Your Thinking? posted at Orna Ross, saying, "Becoming A Spiritual Freethinker"

Sam presents Building Self Esteem. Skills for Self Improvement and Self Help ! Surfer Sam posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "Building Self Esteem and Self Worth Skills for Self Improvement Building Self Esteem Do you truly know yourself? Do you like the person you see? Would you like to become a better person? Self-esteem is the value you place on yourself. It is your sense of personal worth, along with your confidence and your respect for yourself. When you look around, it seems that other people have more money than you, more success than you and more happiness. You have hopes and dreams for yourself, but you don’t know how to reach them."

Spiritual Growth

Paul Hampton Crockett presents Jeff Takes A Journey « Death is an Impostor posted at Death is an Impostor, saying, "Native American tradition of Shamanism in modern context, healing"

Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents Law of Attraction in Action: Luck posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat, saying, "What we see as good or bad luck is actually what our beliefs attract. Create your own good luck with effective use of the Law of Attraction."

Stephen Martile presents 7 Ways to Create the Abundance Mindset posted at FreedomEducation.ca by Stephen Martile, saying, "Hi Anmol, These days it seems that most people are focused on what they don’t have. There is this mindset and emphasis on not having enough or “not enoughness”. I know it’s crazy. Why would you want to be stuck in a lake of lack? If you want to develop the abundance mindset, you’ve got to send the right signals - you’ve got to be giving. Giving signals to the Universe that you have more than enough. Give away what you don’t have and you’ll create the abundance mindset. You can learn more by reading, 7 Ways to Create the Abundance Mindset."

Storm presents What My Rabbits Have Taught Me About Buddhism posted at Ways To Simplify.

Other

Sinari Diliiza presents Unicovia » Interview with Ahura Z on Sunni’s Corner posted at Unicovia.

Fiona King presents Top 100 Anthropology Blogs posted at Online Universities.com.

axel presents Zen-Like Living posted at axel g.

Debbie Dragon presents Connecting the Dots posted at Empowering Mom.

Gavin Gamble presents Get Connected With Your Runes, Make Your Own! posted at The Silver Creek.

Mansur Ahmed presents The Great Religious Divide posted at Mansur Ahmed.

Dr Martin Russell presents The LAP-BAND Solution posted at Dr Martin W. Russell, saying, ""The LAP-BAND Solution: A Partnership in Weight Loss" is the title of a book by Australian surgeon Dr Paul O’Brien which I read with interest when one of my patients found it in a library and showed it to me."

Bill Urell presents Anorexia, The Starvation Diet, And Drinking posted at Addiction Recovery Basics, saying, "Using a starvation diet to justify drinking without weight gain is a destructive strategy that is gaining popularity." 

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of meditation, yoga and spiritual growth carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Related Articles at Mastery of Meditation, Kundalini Yoga and Zen:

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• Great Articles on Spirituality & Personal Development - Edition #1

Jiddu Krishnamurti Speaks on Sensitivity

Sensitivity - The Heart of Spiritual Living

There are many profound and creative ways to describe the spiritual path and a spiritual life, but none capture the essence of spiritual living more precisely or succinctly than the following single word - Sensitivity.  The spiritual life can simply be called the sensitive life.  The following excerpt from J. Krishnamurti does a very thorough treatment of this topic and below I would like to share these thoughts of his with you.

Book:     Krishnamurti