The yogis believe our suffering is caused by not accepting the present and by wanting something more, or to be somebody else. Yoga teaches us how to dissolve the ego mind and see who and what we truly are. But sometimes we only get a glimpse of this, and like a dream it slowly fades away and becomes forgotten. We must remember who we are with each breath we take, to see and feel our divine power and grace with each experience. We must see each day spent as another page in our endless journey to be fully aware and awake.
Yoga is my reminder to be who I truly am, to breathe deeply and to be present in my body. And for this I feel blessed to have yoga in my life.
Namaste',
Timothy Burgin
Founder & Executive Director
YogaBasics.com
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Yoga Rx’s for PMS, menstruation, menopause, and pregnancy.
We have just added a new section to yogabasics.com titled Meditation Basics. This page has a general description of meditation and instructions for three different types of meditations. Check out our Meditation section here.
Discover the Sacred Link with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D. Spiritual Head of the Himalayan Institute Author/Lecture Tour August 29-December 15, 2001.
Reclaim the best of yourself. Discover the sacred link that ties body with mind, mind with soul, inner world with the outer world, and material achievement with spiritual aspiration. This sacred link is at the heart of yoga, meditation, spirituality and true healing. During this presentation you will gather the tools and means to reconnect these fragmented parts of yourself, and experience the joy of spiritual unfoldment and total well being - the goal that all traditions share.
For tickets, complete tour schedule, or information call: 800-822-4547 or visit: www.HimalayanInstitute.org
Shavasana - the state of complete relaxation.
Shavasana is the most important yoga posture you can do. It looks extraordinarily simple, but many beginning students have trouble holding this pose for more than a few minutes. Shavasana literally means “corpse pose” and the goal is to let everything go as if you were dead.
The first stage of this posture is finding the right body position so you can relax into the floor. The arms and legs should be flopped out to the sides, legs slightly apart, arms about forty five degrees from the sides of your body, and the palms face up. The eyes are closed, the breath is slow, smooth and deep.
In the second stage the body relaxes from the toes to the head. This stage combines conscious relaxation and focused awareness, as you need to become aware of tension to be able to release it. Start at the toes, feeling them and letting them relax and release. Then move your awareness up to the foot and let it relax. Slowly move up the body to the ankles, legs, hips, torso, arms, shoulders, neck and head; become aware of each muscle and let it relax. Then have awareness of the whole body, feeling it soft, heavy, and sinking deep into the floor. See if there are any remaining places of tension and let them relax.
Once the muscles of the body are relaxed, then bring your awareness to the internal organs, and let them soften and release any tension. Feel the intestines, stomach, spleen, liver and kidneys soft and relaxed. Feel the heart beating slowly and gently, feel the lungs breathing with as little effort as possible.
Then let the brain and the nervous system relax and release.
Shavasana should be practiced for 5-15 minutes after doing yoga. This posture allows the energy that was created and released in the yoga postures to flow freely through the body allowing it to heal and be nourished. Shavasana releases stress and tension from the body and can be very useful at the end of a hectic day.
Music: Fear No Evil by Bill Laswell.
This is one of the few CDs that puts me into a true trance, where time dissolves and all my thoughts evaporate. The intricate rhythms of the tabla provides the base of these compositions and is layered upon by a droning violin, acoustic guitars, hand drums and percussion. The second CD in this set contains extended remix versions and is especially amazing and yummy. When this CD plays I just want to sit and meditate and absorb this bliss. Fear No Evil is an amazing fusion of Indian percussion and drone with rustic American guitar. This is a beautiful and lush soundtrack for yoga, meditation, massage, and chilling out.
To have a listen or to buy Fear No Evil, click here.
Books: Yoga for Wimps by Miriam Austin.
This is a great book for the yogicly challenged. Beautiful pictures of everyday people in regular clothes doing yoga. The standard yoga postures are shown modified using common objects like neck ties, phone books, chairs and walls. There are great sequences of postures towards the back of the book with titles like “Down in the Dumps”, “I’m Fried!”, and “The Lower Back Blues”. This well written and photographed book makes yoga fun, happy and enjoyable for anyone, regardless of their level of fitness or flexibility.
For more info or to buy Yoga for Wimps, click here.
Video: Power Yoga for Beginners: Stamina by Rodney Yee.
In Stamina, Rodney Yee expertly teaches a moderately paced flow of asanas based on the sun salutations. The basic movements of the sun salutation are done moving with the breath and thus are not described with much detail. Towards the middle of the flow Rodney begins to hold some standing postures and provides good detailed descriptions of their alignment. Stamina ends with some gentle seated and supine postures and a short shavasana. This video is a great beginning video on power yoga, but may not be appropriate for a brand new yoga student. Be prepared to work a little hard, break a sweat, do lots of down dogs and sun salutations, and feel great afterwards.
For more info or to buy Power Yoga for Beginners: Stamina, click here for VHS and here for DVD.
Get good karma for a few clicks:
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working for change: free activism tools and info.
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om shanti peace