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Guided meditatinons - a life transforming present

Christmas is coming and I have some exclusive presents for you that will transform your life if you use it!

This time I brought you 4 professional 20 minutes guided meditations to help you unlock the beautiful power of your mind.
Each MP3s worth about 10 dollars, but it’s yours costless!

For people who find it hard to do personal meditation, guided meditation can prove to be a perfect alternative. It is a kind of meditation that involves getting pointers from a meditation partner to achieve a state of relaxation.

Guided meditation helps create the space within yourself to identify thoughts that are not working and replacing them with new thought patterns that enhance your life. Meditation isn’t a quick fix, but a foundation for real transformation

Each meditation serves a specific purpose as the title says:

-Deep recharge meditation
-Stress management meditation
-Depression relief meditation
-Relationship repair meditation

Try falling asleep to guided meditation and discover for yourself how these new ideas slip into your dreams and your language easily and effortlessly.
(Don’t listen to them while you are driving)

While you are downloading the package let me ask you to take a moment and fill out a very short (4 questions) survey on yoga.

I would highly appreciate if you could fill it out and let me know your opinion, because it will help me to improve your membership (which is your benefit as well) and it’s only one minute.

Click here to take the survey: Short Yoga Survey

Thank you in advance!

Here is the link for the guided meditation package: Download Guided Meditations
This is a big file (about 70mb), so it can take a little time to download.

You will need a software to unpack the file.
Download it here: http://www.win-rar.com/download.html

Four Easy Steps To Meditation - Try It Now!

If and when you finally decide to incorporate meditation as a daily part of your routine and have deemed yourself ready to take the first step, do not commit the mistake of thinking that it would change everything overnight. Learning how to meditate and be able to benefit from it is a long process but you will soon discover that there are many great things in store for you in the future.

It may be difficult initially (everything is the first time around) Even though meditating can be difficult when you first begin the rewards that you receive are well worth the effort. You will soon discover that you have more peace than you previously thought and that there is a better view to life. To get you on the right track to accomplish your pursuit of inner peace and well being, here are a few proven steps on how to learn meditation easily.

1.    Look for the most secluded and quietest spot in your home or your office where you can have the most privacy for 10 to 15 minutes in order to avoid interruption as much possible. Privacy helps you with your concentration especially in the beginning. If you can not find a spot where you can have total silence, play soft relaxing music to drown out disturbing noises. As much as possible, always meditate in the same spot at the same time.

2.    A major part of meditation is learning to control your breathing rhythm. Learn the proper breathing techniques by focusing and controlling your breathing rhythm at the very start.

3.    As soon as you are comfortable in controlling your breathing rhythm, the next step is to learn to relax your entire body. Do not think about anything else while you are doing this, forget the past and don’t worry about the future. Keep your focus and concentration on the here and now and make yourself aware of what is happening at this particular moment. Let go of the tension in your body starting from the toes going up and relax each one after another sequentially.

4.    If you prefer to meditate at home after work, it is best to unwind first before doing so. Keep in mind however that it is not recommended to meditate after a meal and that you should always be in a comfortable sitting position instead.

The first few times you try to meditate, you would surely experience loss of concentration but don’t give up. This is part of the learning process. Simply start over and take up where you left off. Over time this will happen less and less often until you are able to stay focused and concentrate almost at will.

Meditating is easier said than done but by following these 4 easy steps, you will soon learn how to do it easily and correctly. Keep persevering and don’t give up easily. The more effort you put into learning how to meditate the more benefits you will be able to reap.

Now sit down a little and try it, you will feel a lot better I promise!

(feel free to leave comments on how it worked for you!)

Basic Techniques of Meditation

Meditation is a very simple way that can be done anywhere you are to relax both your mind and body. Meditation can actually make it easier for anybody to cope with problems and deal with stress in a more positive manner in order to weather challenging situations. There are many people who avoid meditating because they were wrongly led to believe that it was a complicated process that requires special training to accomplish. However, when it comes to meditation there are several very simple techniques that can help you get the most advantage from doing it.

One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the practice of meditation is that you must be able to get in a very difficult and awkward position before you can meditate. This is totally not true. All you need to do when you are ready to begin is to find a quiet, relaxing place and get in a position that is comfortable for you. However, you do need to be in a position in which you can have a straight and relaxed posture without any straining. If you have a comfortable chair where you can relax, that will work just fine.

Next, you need to make an effort to empty your mind of any worries you may be experiencing and clear your mind of all thoughts. Don’t expect to be able to do this during the first several attempts you try as it can be difficult to do. The main thing is that you do not get frustrated and give up. When a thought enters your mind, don’t get upset simply begin concentrating on emptying your thoughts to remove it again.

Concentrating on the rhythm of your breathing is very important and you need to make sure that you keep it slow and even. There are two main breathing meditation techniques that you need to learn. One is called counting the breath which involves counting each time that you inhale and exhale until you reach a certain designated count. The second breathing technique involves breathing from your diaphragm instead of your chest. Start by inhaling very slowly and deep using your diaphragm then exhale slowly.

After you have cleared you mind of all thoughts and have your breathing under control you are now ready to start focusing on the different parts of your body. Normally, you will start with your toes and then work your way up the body as you visualize the tension and stiffness leave your body. As soon as you begin feeling relaxed you then need to concentrate on limiting and controlling your thoughts. At the end of the session you need to repeat the process of focusing on all your body parts to wake them back up one by one.

When you first start out practicing meditation, it is best to begin with short sessions four or five days a week. After doing the meditation exercises for awhile, you can then begin to gradually increase the amount of time you spend on them. Eventually, you may want to make it a part of your daily routine especially when you begin to see all the benefits you can receive.

The 2 Types of Meditation

Meditation has been around for more than two thousand years and is clearly acknowledged as an essential part of just about every type of religion known to man and as a method to achieve a higher form of spiritual consciousness. When you decide to make meditation a part of your life you also need to decide which type of meditation would be best suited for you. There are two basic types of meditation that can help train your mind to focus and keep focused. They are called mindfulness and concentrative meditation.

The type of meditation is determined by the type of focus used during the session to help you meditate. In a mindfulness state of meditation, you focus on perception and experiences whereas in the state of concentrative meditation you focus on specific objects that you have selected even before you begin meditating.

To perform mindfulness meditation, you start off by finding a comfortable place to sit and begin focusing all of your attention on a specific action such as breathing or a visualization of some type. This is called open focus meditation because you allow your thoughts to wander from one perception to another. In other words, nothing that you think of is considered to be intrusive or interfering with your objective.

You learn to allow the different thoughts, smells, sounds, images and feelings to flow through you without dwelling on them and thinking about them in depth. You have to allow these sensations to pass through your mind without becoming sad, angry, worried or without having any other feelings. It is an opportunity to cleanse your mind of any and all things that bother you as it will help you have a clear and calm state of mind. When the session is complete you will return back to the present.

On the other hand, concentrative meditation is the type used in most religions to enhance spiritual experiences and awareness. With this type of meditation you have to stay focused on a particular event, thought, object, prayer, sound, breathing or an image. You need to eliminate all distractions or at least reduce them as much as possible to prevent interruption so you can put your complete focus on whatever you have chosen to meditate on.

Concentrative meditation allows you to clear your mind and enhance greater awareness that can help improve your life. You only meditate on the object or action that you choose at any given time. The simplest and easiest way to perform concentrative meditation is by focusing all of your thoughts and attention on your breathing.

Many meditation practitioners firmly believe there is a real and important connection between a person’s state of mind and their breathing. You will breathe in regularly with deep and slow breaths when you are calm and relaxed. Your mind and thoughts will be absorbed by the rhythm of your breathing and this will provide a natural focus point for meditating. It will also slow down your breathing, help you to relax and become more aware of your surroundings and existence.

Learning how to perform both types of meditation can be very beneficial and can help you to regain peace and harmony in your life. Not only can it improve your mental ability and emotional health but it can improve physical health as well. It is a great way to get the most out of each and every day while at the same time feeling better about your self in the process.

Advantages and Benefits of Meditation to You and Me

Meditation or contemplation as some people call it is fast becoming extremely popular with a lot of people because of the excellent benefits the practice provides in making their lives better both physically and emotionally. It has ceased to be the exclusive practice of monks, religious people, Yoga practitioners and mystics. More and more, it is now being used as a regular practice of people from all walks of life in order to improve the quality of their life and well being.

The benefits and advantages of regular meditation are just being discovered in the Western-influenced cultures of many countries in the world. To give you a better perspective on why most people from the Eastern hemisphere have been practicing meditation for thousands of years, it is necessary to get a glimpse of its positive effects.

One of the most notable improvements commonly reported after undertaking meditation for a week or two is the improvement in mental concentration and awareness of everything around you including their possible implications. After meditating for quite some time (sometimes even a few days) people say they are able to focus more clearly for longer periods of time with greater attention to details.

Some even say that with meditation their sensory processes are much more heightened and enhanced which in turn helps boost creativity and resourcefulness because enhanced perception triggers certain parts of the brain that is normally related with an individual’s creativity and imagination. Considering that some forms of meditation require the person to engage in self-directed visualization techniques helps jump start and improve a person’s creativity.

With regular meditation, people can improve their sleep patterns to enjoy a deep refreshing sleep – even for a few hours only. This sleep improvement benefit makes our dreams become more vivid. Benefits of deep sleep can not be understated since it certainly helps to improve your overall health, gives you more energy and makes you feel better because you are well rested.

Everyday stress from work, family, inter-personal relations, even traffic have been known to be the cause of many medical problems for the average individual. The inability to handle stress from everyday stimuli makes a person highly strung and touchy for no reason at all. By practicing daily meditation, you can willfully reduce the effect of stress (although you can not totally eradicate them) to better cope and control your emotions with patience. You will be able to react more calmly and in a positive manner towards things that use to make you upset instead of reacting in a destructive fashion. In the long run, improved self-control helps build up confidence and gives you a new point of view on life around you.

Generally, overall health and well-being is greatly improved when meditation becomes a part of your daily routine. It helps to lower blood pressure which in turn can help prevent strokes and heart disease. It can also help reduce the effect of stress on people who suffer from chronic illnesses. Although you only practice meditation for a few minutes daily, maybe thirty minutes at the most, it certainly makes your entire day more relaxing and enjoyable and makes you live a better life.

Yoga - Tips on Position

Yoga has been in practice since a long time, and followers of yoga positions and continuous practitioner benefit by it through their mind, muscles and even the internal body systems. With time, its popularity has only shot up. But before one initializes it, one must have a fair idea of its impact to squeeze the most out of the yoga experience. So let’s start with some tips before you begin with your mental and spiritual body set-up.

•    Continuous practice
Yoga practice should be continuous, not only in the class under an expert teacher, but also at home, which will make the body and the mind feel at peace. For a newbie, regular practice will make the benefits more pronounced which will result in further involvement in yoga. In yoga, the number of times you practice your position is more important than the duration of each session that you enter into. A very minor part of your daily schedule, if devoted to yoga, can do you a world of good.

One important thing to remember while doing yoga is to get the positions right. Most of the TV shows and self-help books will suggest practicing yoga more often but what they skip to remind us is the right poses that one must strike while doing this exercise. Extending oneself more in each session will help, and one must not only practice the poses one is comfortable with, but also try to practice those with one he is struggling.

This will ensure that the practice session is more fertile and gives one the self-belief to do even better, and will make him realize that he’s doing well.

•    Peaking your potential
Getting rid you one’s ego is one of the most important aspects for the novice. To give it the best shot to maximize the utility derived from the yoga exercise, one must not try to just make an impression on the teacher or the fellow learners. Self-study is the nucleus of yoga therapy. Instead of being an exact replica of the teacher or a good student, one must try to improvise and then maximize his own potential and benefits derived from the class.

•    Who am I??
One of the fundamental features of yoga is to remember oneself, remember who he is. Instead of going deep into his yoga poses, one must realize how deep he has actually evolved with the therapy, himself. Learning about one’s inner attention is important in yoga. While practicing, with the aid of the guider, one must strive to use that attention and get most of his poses. It’s only secondary if the physical position is not altogether perfect.

Advantages of Yoga

It is not the fact that people are not acquainted with the term ‘yoga’, but the actual scenario makes it clear that a large share of these people does not know too many things about it. It is at times thought to be a physical training for having a flexibility of limbs. But, yoga surpasses this narrow idea as it provides a through mental and physical fitness training. It is something that can help you in any aspects whatsoever of your life because, it is, after all, the mind and the body which stand as the backbones of a human being.

Due to its holistic approach, as mentioned earlier, yoga does not draw any demarcating line between the realm of mind and realm of body. Yoga does not make any distinction because, in the world of yoga, mind and body are the two integral parts of a whole, which cannot be separated.

‘Asanas’, a term, which we all are aware of, actually refers to those poses and postures through which an all-round training of mind and body are accomplished by yoga. This sort of training is something that can extend an aid as it exerts an improvement in your strength, stamina, flexibility, concentration and blood-circulation.

Not only that, it will also provide you with calmness and energy which would cut down your mental stress and help you doing your daily works with absolute ease.

Irrespective of the profession you are in- a housewife staying at home or a cashier in a grocery store or an athlete or office worker- yoga keeps helping you. It should not only be viewed as an end but it is to be treated as a means. Yoga can make you enabled to do, what you like to do, with much more perfection and contentment.

Yoga can be a good remedy in your injuries and illness but before starting up yoga or any exercise routine, you should consult with your doctor, especially, in case you do have any medical conditions.

In this regard, one thing can be assured that you should obviously try out yoga after making sure that you have consulted with your doctor. You should go for it because, at the worst, you may not like to continue and in that case you can put an end to it.

You will be getting a few options after you become well determined to start yoga. To contact with the local gym or yoga studio is the way that easily comes to one’s mind but if you want to avail it more conveniently sitting at your home and spending less, the option of having a yoga DVD is always there to work as a guideline for you. It gives you the advantage of making your own routine. Notwithstanding this advantage, it has to be said that a gym or yoga studio is always a better option as it provides you with instant instruction.

Yoga Accessories

Yoga accessories are extremely useful as they make practicing yoga safer and more relaxing, even though not too many yoga accessories are needed. There are some items you cannot do without such as a yoga mat, yoga socks and shoes, pants and upper body wear.

There are other additional yoga accessories such as a water bottle, a bag to carry the yoga mat, yoga props, and DVDs for practicing alone, but these are optional and whether you buy them is up to you.

The upper body wear is very important as it has to make you feel comfortable. There will be no way you can relax and do yoga if your clothes are ill-fitting and uncomfortable. The upper body wear should ideally be made of a combination of lycra and cotton as these fabrics help absorb sweat, fit well, and give pores for proper circulation. During cold weather, wear comfortable pants which will not get in the way of your exercises.

They should not be too loose, or of a very think material, as it will make you feel very hot when you’re exercising. Apart from your t-shirt and jeans/pants, leave your jewellery and watch outside, to prevent them from hampering your yoga.

A yoga mat is an absolutely necessary yoga accessory. It serves as a cushion protecting you from the hard floors, and it is also hygienic as it prevents contact with the floor. Make sure the yoga mat stays clean as your body and head will have contact with it. People living in cold climates should ensure that their yoga mat stays flexible after it’s kept in the trunk of the car, or after it’s been exposed to the cold air.

Usually, yoga is practiced barefoot or variably in a pair of cotton socks. But experts say that wearing yoga shows makes it more relaxing and comfortable. Yoga shoes are not the same as exercise shoes. They have thinner soles and are lighter at the top to facilitate air circulation.

Additionally, yoga shoes prevent bacteria and germs from forming and are important when you need to share a yoga mat. Moreover, the yoga shoes help maintain certain yoga postures and prevent you from slipping.

Some people prefer to wear yoga socks to yoga shoes because they are like gloves for the feet. Toe socks with non-slip rubber dots are also available and these give friction, and they’re a good buy.

A bag for your yoga accessories which will hold your mat, change of clothes, keys and wallet will help carrying your stuff to and from yoga class. Yoga props can help you with certain postures, and yoga DVDs can help you practice certain moves which you learnt in class. Water bottles are helpful but not really necessary as you’ll sweat out all the toxins during yoga class.

You can get all the yoga accessories you need at yoga specialty retailers because of the wide range of stuff and also the staff will be well-informed about your yoga needs.

The Six Branches of Yoga

Yoga has been around in the eastern world for centuries, and the classical techniques of yoga go back to about five thousand years ago. If you are interested in going in for practicing yoga, you should have an overall idea about the various branches of yoga.

There are six branches of yoga, namely Hatha, Bhakti, Karma, Raja, Tantra and Jnana. Hatha, which is the most popular branch of yoga, is actually the physical part of yoga or the yoga which involves postures or asanas. The Hatha yoga is thus basically composed of  ‘asanas ‘ are the physical postures which yoga practitioners have to do, ‘pranayama’ or breathing techniques, and meditation. Hatha joins the body and soul and make the body healthy, and helps to keep the mind free from stress and anxiety.

Bhakti is the yoga of devotion, involving the heart and faith. This branch of yoga permits the yogis to discern the actual humanity in all people and makes them able to see everything from all aspects, thus enabling them to endure, love and accept everything and everyone peacefully. Bhakti yoga teaches its practitioners how to devote themselves completely to god, and teaches them that all creatures are created by the Almighty and that appreciating other creatures and life itself is an act of devotion to god.

Karma yoga is the branch of yoga which considers that a person’s current state is a result of his past state, i.e. whatever the person’s situation is in this life is a consequence of his previous life, and whatever he will do in this life will determine his condition in his next life.

It deals with service and involves action’s energy. Karma yoga teaches yogis that they should ignore all negative aspects of their life and focus on doing good things and thinking good thoughts. It teaches that if lead a virtuous life in this life, then you will have a happy life in the next life.

Raja is the ‘king of yogas’ as ‘raja’ means ‘royal’. It’s based on the eight limbs of yoga and involves meditation. It teaches that the universe exists for the self, and this leads to self-esteem and reverence for your fellow creatures.

Tantra yoga is based on understanding of Mantra (mystic syllables) and Tattva (truth). Tantra yogis feel an increased awareness regardless of whether they’re awake or asleep. However, only those who are chaste, brave, devoted, loyal to his guru, true, trusty, honest, and be humane and have love for the whole universe can be practitioners of Tantra yoga.

Jnana yoga involves the mind as it is concerned with knowledge and wisdom. It improves the yogi’s cleverness and astuteness.

After reading about the six branches of yoga, you should be able to decide which yoga is suitable for you. You can sign up for a yoga class, or get a yoga DVD, a book, or a videotape and practice it at home. There are also yoga instructions available on the internet which you can search for.

Yoga In The West

Yoga as a concept was introduced in the West a long time ago. It is only now that more and more Americans are taking it more seriously than they ever did before.

Yoga as a way of life is catching on fast with the Westerners as more and more people familiarize themselves with the truth behind this centuries-old Indian practice.

It was towards the end of the eighteenth century that Western scholars began to understand how closely related the Indian languages are with their European counterparts. The study of such an interconnectedness that ensued introduced them to the concept of yoga as it was present in the Indian sacred texts.

A breakthrough came when Englishman Charles Wilkins pioneered the translation of Sanskrit text of The Bhagvad Gita to English. It was also the efforts of American statesman Alexander Hamilton who closely studies the Indian culture, tradition, languages and even delivered a lecture in Paris about India in the year 1802-03.

By the nineteenth century, the knowledge of yoga was spreading among the Westerners who were involved closely with the study of Indian texts. They were able to trace the development of the concept from its source, now that English translations of the texts were available to them. Notable in this field and worthy of mention are the efforts of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson who made the above mentioned possible.
Also, during the same time, a strain of the though processes behind yoga also began to be felt in the works of the American and European Romantics.

However, as is commonly known, and earlier mentioned, yoga has become a way of life with many Westerners. It has not only been incorporated in the daily lives of people, but also in their way of thinking.

This knowledge of yoga as a concept came into the popular consciousness of westerners through several instances of cross-fertilization due to close interaction between the two cultures.

Swami Vivekananda’s, an Indian intellectual, contribution to making Indian culture familiar to the West is notable. His address at Chicago in 1893 to the World’s Parliament of Religions is perhaps the most important event that helped India to reach out to the world. Indian guru Parmahansa Yogananda I another important figure who made yoga popular in the West, through his teachings, the Self-Realization Fellowship that he set up, and through his own autobiography.

Other figures worthy of mention are B.K.S. Iyengar (founder of Iyengar Yoga), Swami Rama (the Himalayan Institute), Swami Satchidananda (Integral Yoga), and Swami Vishnu-devananda (Sivananda Yoga).