In most forms of Yoga there are three components to the practice; breathing, concentration and physical poses also known as asanas. The two poses below are the most common asanas used in Western Yoga practice today.

Padma-Asana: Probably the most famous and well-known pose; the Padma-asana is referred to as the Lotus Position. The root of the words to this pose mean to “bend”, and “snake”. Think of it as the maneuvering of the body into a position that requires the flexibility and smoothness of a snake.

To practice this pose, sit down and place the right foot on the left thigh and the left foot on the right thigh. The soles of the feet should be facing towards the sky. Next, the palms of the hands are also turned toward the sky and placed on the corresponding thigh. It is a difficult pose to retain for long periods of time if the body is not properly conditioned. It is therefore paramount to begin with short periods and work into a longer time frame.

Sirsha-Asana: The Headstand Pose. The benefits of the notorious head stand pose are to increase the physical and mental health of the person practicing it. The pose encourages balance and stability on the physical level and mental acuity on the intellectual level. Additionally, it improves blood flow throughout the body and helps to decrease tension and stress in the lower limbs.

To practice this pose, begin in a kneeling position. Lean forward to place the arms, from hands to elbows, flat on the floor, and interlock the fingers of both hands. The head should be placed between the hands, flat on the floor. Push up from the kneeling position on the tips of the toes keeping head on the floor. Slowly bring the legs into an extended, upright hand stand position, keeping the entire body aligned, straight and balanced. Special breathing techniques are also employed during this pose which enhances the overall effect of the asana.

Rachel Dayer runs and operates http://www.mustask.com, a health related portal.

Every process of Yoga… neigh meditation that frees us from the clutches of attachment… bondage or Moha, whatever we may call it… Is the right process on the path of gaining Enlightenment.

Are Yoga and Meditation two different words with different meanings? No, the truth is not so… we need to understand that it is the path of yoga which shall lead us to gaining Enlightenment within this life. And what does yoga itself mean? The word yoga has been derived from the Hindi root yog and which in Hindi means synthesizing two things. In Hindi two plus two equal four… and the effort of our soul (the atman within) to merge with the super soul (the Parmatman, the Almighty God) is known as yoga.

Yoga in other words is the effort of every soul to merge with the Almighty God at the earliest. And for this to be achieved we need to follow a routine of yogic exercises and also meditate (perform yoga) on the Almighty God. This process of meditation can be best understood once we are able to understand the meaning of Meditation. Meditation in Hindi means yoga. Never otherwise or vice versa!

To be able to rightly perform Yoga (Meditation) we need to concentrate on the basic belief of life and that is… the basic building block of the total Cosmos is an atom. A cluster of atoms grouped together are called as molecules and a cluster of molecules is what the whole complex Cosmos comprises of. Truly speaking… the whole Cosmos is built up of clusters of atoms and molecules and there is nothing solid in the whole Cosmos. Everything in the Cosmos has a gaseous formation… a form of energy. As we have seen in the Star Trek serial during the deportation of human beings from one place to another… they get transformed into pure energy for a temporal phase.

This is the only vital truth of life we cannot get away with… seeing from the senses point of view… things appear to be gaseous and also solids but in the cosmic domain it is only the gaseous formation which holds good. Once we are clear with this issue in respect of every human being and every living being (Jiva as we call it in Hinduism) living on mother earth being gaseous formations… we need to understand that it is only after having gained control of the senses and the mind shall we be able to transcend the earthly plane and be able to truly visualize whatever was pictured in the telly serial Star Trek.

Performing Yoga (Meditation) is the process which enables us to cut across the shackles of the senses and the mind and to be able to come free of the senses and the mind… one needs to perform yoga (meditation) in a manner that the dross within our soul (atman) reduces at a faster pace. The complete dross having removed… one would have gained absolute control over the senses and the mind! This is the stage of Nirvikalpa Samadhi as we know it in Hinduism. The stage of Nothingness… it is when the senses and the mind have lost their entity and the purified soul engages itself in one to one dialogue with the Almighty God, the super soul.

Now… the question arises is how-to perform the Meditation (Yoga as we call it in Hinduism). And the meditation can best be performed by lying in Shavasana pose (the death pose) and following the path of Neti (not this… not this). And by doing this what are we trying to achieve? Is it possible to gain Enlightenment by this process? Yes! It is a foolproof process which shall gain us Enlightenment in the end.

What is the Shavasana pose? In yogic exercises the Shavasana pose carries the most importance for one on the path of gaining Enlightenment. It is this process of Shavasana in which one can lie down in the death pose and concentrate on the process of breathing. While lying down in the Shavasana pose as we gradually realize the ultimate truth of life that it is not the body which is inhaling the requisite essentiality (the pure air) but it is our soul (the real self within) the body which needs the pure oxygen… the body tends to lose its meaning.

We become more and more aware of the real truth within us and that truth is our soul (atman) which resides within our body. Slowly one more fundamental of life shall dawn upon us and that it… it is not the body which has taken the soul but it is vice versa which is the absolute truth. As we realize that our existence as a body is merely a covering… a garment for our real self… our Soul (Atman) within us… we would ultimately come to the conclusion that why not retain our true real self alone. What of the body then? Is it to be discarded? And if the body is discarded… the manifest self of us… our existence in this world would die!

Proceeding on the path of spirituality through logical conclusions as in the dialogues of Plato… cutting one untruth after another leads us towards higher planes of spirituality. Becoming freer from the clutches of the senses… we find a gradual change within our personality. The ultimate truth having dawned upon us that the present body is merely a garment for the inner real self of us… our desire of gaining Enlightenment within this life becomes stronger.

What is Neti? The path of Neti as practiced and followed by Maharishi Ramana! While lying down in the Shavasana pose is it not worthwhile to concentrate on the existence of God. We have come to a conclusion earlier that everything is gaseous in nature and what then? We would slowly realize that the only existence in this gaseous formation is of different souls and the Karta, Parmatman (as we call it in Hinduism) the Almighty God himself. There is nothing else apart from the souls, the Almighty God, the ether which comprises of the vast Cosmos.

Now if we desire to gain Enlightenment in this life… then we have to negate the existence of everything in our physical manifested world. The process of Neti (not this… Not this) is the process of negation as practiced and advocated by Maharishi Ramana… the one and the only path to cut across the shackles of the senses and the mind. It is only following the path of Neti while lying down in Shavasana pose that I realized God one-day. Having traversed the path… I can with hundred percent certainties say that the Shavasana pose and the process of Neti is the best form of Meditation one can ever imagine of.

Summarizing all… I can only quote of whatever I have personally experienced… I have nothing more to say!

May God bless all those on the path of Enlightenment!

Vijay Kumar… The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains role Yoga and Meditation play on path to Enlightenment. subscribe free Newsletter “Spiritual Secrets Unveiled” – Explore hidden cosmic truths- more here Yoga

Vijay Kumar started in search of God at the age of 13 years. It was in 1993 that he was graced with the vision of God, the Almighty. Since then the hidden truths of all Scriptures of all Religions of the World have become like ABCD to him. Providing Free Spiritual counseling to the World Community through the medium of internet through websites Meditation and Yoga and Meditation

Children’s Yoga in School for Bullying Prevention

“Right Click” this link to download the full report in PDF.

Dee Marie, M.A., S.Y.T.

“Jivatam Jyotiretu Vidyam,” “True education (self-knowledge) enlightens human life,” according to Shrii Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar the founder of the international Neohumanist Education System and the Ananda Marga Schools.

“If we wish to create lasting peace we must begin with the children” Mahatma Gandi

There is a growing concern throughout America regarding the increase in childhood stress, bullying, and violence. Living in Colorado, we are haunted by the incident at Columbine High School when two students felt the need to take revenge and take action in a violent manner leaving 15 dead and creating fear and sadness in the hearts of students and parents. This was the first wake up call that affluent, suburban schools were not always safe places. Violence and bullying continue to escalate according to statistics. Seventeen states across the United States report having instituted laws to reduce or eliminate bullying in schools.. In Colorado, each school district is required to have a bully prevention policy and program. This paper will discuss a classically based yoga program incorporated within an upper elementary school system in Boulder, CO. The main hypothesis of this project was to evaluate whether yoga training would effectively decrease bullying and increase anger management for 4th and 5th grade students. The rationale for this hypothesis was based on the first vow of raja yoga, ahimsa, that one vows to be non-violent to self and others.

The yoga curriculum was presented for six, 45 minute sessions during the academic school day for 101, 4^th and 5^th grade students in 2004, repeated for 108 students in 2005 and reviewed again for 105, students in 2006. The children learned yoga philosophy, practiced yoga postures, learned breathing and concentration techniques, as well as, traditional conflict resolution strategies and dialogues. Through the use of pre and post questionnaires the program was evaluated and statistics obtained. The program proved to be successful and effective. Boulder students’ self reported a decrease by 60% in their own bulling behavior and a 42% decrease in regard to being bullied by others at school A comprehensive yoga program can greatly reduce violence and bullying, but, the long term lasting effects are still unclear. The results of this intervention acknowledge yoga as an effective method for increasing anger management skills and decreasing physical outbursts of violence for upper elementary school age children during the time of implementation.  Click the Download link to read more….

More on children’s yoga and kids yoga in upcoming posts……………