Full Body Awareness
Now that you're comfortable working with your breath it's time to bring the rest of the body in. Continue breathing as I've outlined in my article on Breathing. Now in addition to feeling your breath flow and your stomach and ribs expand, I want you to feel the energy that flows into your body with each breath. For me it feels like a lightness, or a very light feeling. It may feel different for you so take some time here and just open up and feel the energy. Now when you draw the energy in can you feel it pooling at your center of gravity just below your belly button? Now as you breathe just let that pool of energy expand throughout your body. Can you feel it flowing down through your legs and up your back and down your arms? Take some time here and practice this feeling that energy pool expand through your whole body. Later we'll expand it out even further, but for now just let it flow. This exercise should help you to feel rejuvenated and refreshed as you're drawing energy from an infinite pool. Do this exercise whenever you're depressed or down, and eventually as you progress you'll learn to do it all the time. It's a habit that you have to grow into. Awareness and Intention EVERYTHING is about 'Awareness' and 'Intention'. Now that you've begun to build an awareness of the energy, called Chi, Ki or Prana in some circles, you'll be able to do things with it and move it around in your (and other peoples) body. We move energy with 'Intention', and this is a very important fact. EVERYTHING is energy! Our thoughts, our actions, our beliefs, everything around us and everything we see, feel, hear, think and do is energy. Intention is what we do with that energy. We are all connected in a vast energy pool that encompasses everything that is, was and will be. It doesn't matter whether a person believes in it or can feel it; they still have the ability to affect it. How many times have you seen a person with a negative attitude who continually draws more negative reactions to himself? He's broadcasting his intentions through his attitudes with the result that he becomes a human 'crap magnet', drawing in all the negative feelings and emotions and experiences. The other side of this is the continually positive person who always approaches everything from a positive attitude. This doesn't mean that everything always goes the way she wants it, but if you'll watch you'll see that even the bad times provide fuel for her growth and she tries to take every 'bad experience' as a lesson to help improve herself. Just as our thoughts can influence Chi subconsciously, so can they move it around in our body. Energy follows thought, so when you think about moving energy then it will actually go where you send it. The important thing here is to stay out of its way. Energy moves in a spiral and at its own speed, so don't try to micro-manage it, just let it flow. Now take some time and do the Full Body Awareness exercise again, and this time feel the energy go where you send it. You can also play with this a bit. Send it down to your feet, now bring it back to your center and this time just send it down to your left foot, now your right. Now send it up to your head, and down to your left elbow. Now, the next time you're stuck in traffic, or impatiently waiting in line at the Motor Vehicles Office, just relax and start to play with this. Isn't this a neat toy? --- Robert Morgen is a Reiki Master who currently holds a
Black Belt in Hoshin Roshi Ryu. He's the founder of
the Kundalini Awakening Discussion Group, the Druids
Circle Discussion Group and the (offline) Druids
Circle in Lakewood, CO. You can find more info on all
these at; www.druidscircle.info He's also the founder and Executive Director of the Windhaven Foundation for Sustainable Living. He writes a regular column on subtle energy for Fight Times Magazine and a twice monthly column on Kundalini Awakening at Alumbo.com. In addition to teaching about energy work and Kundalini Awakening he donates time to teach about Renewable Energy, Alternative Building and Creating Sustainable Lifestyles in various Public Schools. He travels and teaches as much as possible and you can find out how to attend one of his Kundalini Awakening seminars at his website at; www.windhavenco.org His new book "Personal Mastery: Develop Your True Inner Power By Awakening Your Kundalini" is now available at http://www.lulu.com/RobertMorgen.
MORE RESOURCES:
Higher education, with yogaGlobe and Mail, Canada - 16 hours ago... a gymnasium and a 1700-seat varsity centre that can host convocation ceremonies, as well as dozens of dance, fitness and yoga studios. ... |
The medicinal powers of yogaCBC.ca, Canada - Sep 5, 2008But medical research that's been accumulating over the past 10 to 15 years is showing that yoga can provide health benefits that many people may not realize ... |
Reaching out through yogaFort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN - 13 hours agoShe also hopes it can change the world, which is why the Indiana native founded the non-profit Yoga World Reach (www.yogaworldreach.org) in Vail, Colo., ... |
Yoga At Cranberry Lake PreserveWestchester.com, NY - 20 hours agoThen join certified Kripalu Yoga instructor Franklin Shire for an outdoor morning session, Saturday, September 13, 9:30 am at Cranberry Lake Preserve in ... |
Princess Offers In-Room Fitness, Yoga for KidsCruise Critic, NJ - Sep 5, 2008Princess Offers In-Room Fitness, Yoga for Kids Princess Cruises is expanding its onboard spa and fitness offerings. Among them: In an industry first-ever, ... |
Yoga - Google News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Look at Meditation
I've counseled many people from every background and led
workshops and lectures about self-empowering topics for
about 25 years. Over that time, I saw a need.
Full Body Awareness
Now that you're comfortable working with your breath it's time to bring the rest of the body in. Continue breathing as I've outlined in my article on Breathing.
The Brain Scrub for Druids
The Brain Scrub is designed to help you overcome the "monkey mind" which leaps and bounces around from subject to subject in an uncontrolled manner. After mastering this exercise you'll be able to instantly clear and calm your mind in any situation, allowing you to focus completely on any subject.
4 Little Known Secrets of Meditation
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Secret #1:The True Purpose of Meditation=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Many people feel a sense of fascination when confronted with the possibility of mystic visions, psychic intuition and heightened mental functioning. While meditators often report these sorts of improvements, these experiences should not be the primary reason for practice.
How You Can Unite Meditation, Divine Essence, And Personal Tenacity to Serve Your Highest Purpose
1. Meditation:Meditation is a sacred practice.
Can Cognitive Fitness Be a Workout for Your Brain?
There is growing interest to exercise your brain using something called "cognitive fitness."It's a known fact that exercise and meditation reduce anxiety, ease depression, and give you a general feeling of wellness.
Druids and Meditation
It's pretty obvious that the ancient Druids used several forms of meditation. That the Druids were able to still and control their minds is unquestioned, but the techniques they used have apparently been lost to the ravages of time and the lack of written records.
Tips for Better Meditation
Meditation students often come to me and ask what they can do to improve their meditation. Success in meditation is not the result of any one single factor but depends on sustained and systematic effort over a period of time.
Enlightenment through Meditation
Helping the broadest range of people attain enlightenment through meditation is my lifelong preoccupation. I have more than 20 years of daily interaction with people helping them meditate and encouraging them to set high goals and use meditation as a tool for attaining inspiration, precious insights, enlightenment and other benefits that come along with it.
Healing From Within
"We become sick because we act
In sickening ways."
Louis JourardModern medicine is based upon the notion of battle.
How to Use White Noise
White noise is: A sound containing a blend of all the audible frequencies distributed equally over the range of the frequency band. White noise is analogous to white light which contains all the colors of the rainbow together.
Meditation - What is It Good for Anyway?
Meditation is an age old healing and stress relieving modality practiced throughout the world, in virtually all cultures and all religions, although it may go by different names - prayer, visualization, relaxation techniques, and hypnosis; they are all forms of the same practice.Meditation refers to "taking a break" from real life.
Herbal Teas
If you want to get hold of a particular tea and can't find it, then it is fine to use a combination tea, which contains the ingredient you want along with a few others.Some Health Benefits from Particular Herbal Teas:Heart and Circulation: Hawthorn berry.
Lighthearted Meditation: Playing With Mindfulness
I often meet people who say things like, "I've been working on mindfulness for over twenty years."My response is always this: "Oh, you poor thing! Have you tried *playing* with mindfulness? It's very effective, and much more fun!"They tend to look at me like I'm some kind of kook, and then ask the million-dollar question: "How can you play with mindfulness?" Glad you asked.
Wireless Meditation: Top Five Tips For Wherever-Whenever Mindfulness
The problem with meditation is attachment.We get in the habit of needing our altar, favorite cushion, incense, CD, certain time of day, necessary length of time, or particular style of sitting.
Meditating - Staying Awake
Why is staying awake while meditating important? Falling asleep is certainly relaxing, and can be good for you, but to get the full range of benefits from your meditation you need to have your brainwaves in the alpha and theta ranges. When you are asleep, your brainwaves range from theta to delta.
Meditation Supply Items - Can They Help Deepen Your Practice?
Can a meditation supply item help you go into a deeper state of inner awareness? If you choose the right item, there is a good chance that it can help you get more comfortable and allow you to become more relaxed.A common problem with meditation is that many people are not flexible enough to sit in a position for a long time without starting to feel some discomfort in their bodies.
Establishing A Daily Meditation Practice
It's important to establish a daily practice and then stick to it. This doesn't mean dedicating 12 hours a day to meditation, it just means creating a space in your home where you can take a few minutes and meditate and do the exercises.
How to Train Your Brain to Keep You Healthy and Happy
When you are unhappy what do you do? Do you go out for a meal? Go to the cinema? The theatre, perhaps? Do you go shopping? Perhaps you like a drink to overcome your unhappiness. Or do you get a buzz from jogging or going to the gym?Whatever it is scientist are in the process of proving that internal change is the only thing that can give you health and happiness.
Meditation Is Not Just for Men with White Beards
What kind of picture comes to mind when someone
mention the word "meditation?"I don't know about you, but for me, I use to get a
picture of some real, health food nut, with a
white beard, sitting Indian style with his eyes
closed, palms facing up and making weird sounds.
Didn't seem like anything I thought I'd ever do.
|
