Often I get asked by my students “what is the difference between relaxation and meditation?” Nowadays a lot of people use the terms very loosely and yet there is a distinct difference.

Meditation is the harder one to explain and to attain! There a number of definitions. “Meditation is a continuous flow of perception or thought, like the flow of water in a river.” This quote is from Swami Vishnu Devananda.

Others have described it as a completely blank, still mind or the process of coming to inner stillness. Our thoughts are like the ripples on a very still lake, the less thoughts we have, the stiller the lake becomes till there are no more ripples. The mind is still and we find our true inner essence in that stillness. It is in that stillness that we realise that the core of us, our very essence, is unchangeable, no matter what happens around us on the outside. This knowing gives us a deep sense of peace.

Consciously or unconsciously all human beings are somehow seeking peace of mind. Everybody does it in a different way. For some it is sitting down and doing embroidery, going fishing, going for a walk and observe nature with fresh eyes. For some it might even be writing code for a website! When our attention is focussed on one thing, one object and we don’t think of anything else, the constant chatter of the mind stops. The mind becomes quiet and silent. We completely can forget our worries and problems.

Unfortunately this is only temporary. As soon as we stop our activity the mind goes back to its old habits, the thoughts and worries come back with a vengence.

Initially the same happens when doing meditation. We temporarily achieve stillness and as soon as we finish our practice, everyday life catches up again. With practice the mind stays more calm and still even after we return to our everyday activities. When we do get out of balance, it becomes easier and quicker to regain it. So don’t give up.

Till next time
Connie,
Your Yoga Partner
from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

I know that many of you are interested in the powers of the mind, and realise that your thoughts do in fact create your reality.

I don’t expect you all to believe that creative visualisations actually work. Just imagine for a second that they do work, that you can achieve what you turn your mind to. How important do you think is it, to control your mind?

I mean how important is it – really – to be in possession of an optimistic, expectant, intention-based mindset? Is life REALLY Good?

What do you think?  Hold that thought for a minute?

What was your answer?

Did you answer — both?  Good AND Bad?

So did most everyone else…

Do you “do what you like and like what you do”?

Is the glass “half full”?

Is the leftover pie on the plate half eaten?

There is a line that is crossed with each result we have in life.

Ask yourself these questions:

Is your weight “half empty” or “half full”?

How about your purse?  Half empty or half full?

What about your relationships?

How about your health?

What about your general *luck* in life?

What about your self esteem?

How about your looks?

“Half empty” or “half full”?

What are your results in those areas that are “half empty”?

What about the ones that are “half full”?

See what I mean?

Let’s face it, we all don’t have hours every day for each of these issues to go and meditate on a mountain top somewhere to solve these problems.  However, your bank account, concentration, health, kindness, weight, happiness, expectation, optimism and intention can all be improved each day — every day in a row — with some amazing CDs (downloadable).

Have a look here https://paydotcom.com/r/47928/ConnieY/20228651/ I really love them, they are great!

They even come with a 30 day guarantee! 

The only thing you need to do is relax, listen to these audios as the most calming, soothing voice places incredibly positive messages into your subconscious mind.

Everything else will take care of itself!

It just happens!!

Give it a shot and check it out for yourself!

https://paydotcom.com/r/47928/ConnieY/20228651/

Choose your future today.

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com 

Last week there were a few minutes to spare before I was teaching my class. One of my students asked: “What comes first, yoga or meditation?”

I had to think for a moment on how to answer that question. Historically, traditionally the opinion is that the end goal of any type of yoga practice is enlightenment. Enlightenment is the ability to live in a permanently blissful state regardless of what is going on around you. The blissful state arises from the knowledge that there is no separation from the divine (however you define this for you). This is the highest goal of yoga. The word “yoga” actually means “union”. Some argue it is the union of body and mind, or breath, body and mind, others are of the opinion that it is the union with the “source”.

According to the traditional teachings, to reach that enlightened, blissful state, regular meditation practice is required.  Meditation was done sitting cross legged and motionless for long periods of time. It is thought that all the yoga postures were designed to make the body supple and flexible, pain-free and disease free so that the practitioner was able to:

• sit cross legged
• sit upright with a straight spine without slumping
• sit for long periods of time without the body distracting him/her
• have a healthy and undisturbed energy flow along the meridians (energy channels) in his/her body
• stay healthy
• live longer and therefore have more time and more of a chance to reach enlightenment (remember life expectancy a few thousand years ago was not what it is today!)

So, answering the question from a traditional point of view, I would have to say that the physical yoga postures (or hatha yoga as it is commonly referred to) are only a means to facilitate meditation and eventually enlightenment. They are the vehicle to reach that blissful state. They are secondary to the desired goal of enlightenment. My first teacher, Acharya, fully supported that view and tried to live and teach accordingly.  

In our modern times, not many people in the western world are striving to reach enlightenment. Even if they did, it would be a long, hard road. Most people are unable to sit cross legged on the floor with a straight spine for long periods of time. Hip flexibility is at an all time low in the developed world. (more…)

Does a dog have Buddha nature?

The tiny chihuahua who thinks he’s a Buddhist monk!

Animal of pray….

I found three different articles with the above headlines. They all are talking about a small Chihuahua by the name of Conan. He is a long-haired black and white dog who lives at a Buddhist temple in Naha, Okinawa, Japan.

Conan has learnt how to offer prayers in the temple. He looks really cute standing on his hind legs and having his front paws folded in prayer position. He sits next to his master, Joei Yoshikuni, the temple’s priest.

When Conan was 5 months old, his master taught him the prayer position, bribing him with a treat. It only took a few days for the cute Chihuahua to learn the position.

Word about the praying dog quickly spread. He became known all over the world. More and more people started attending the temple. The priest is especially pleased that a lot of younger people are finding their way to the temple and learn about the particular form of Zen Buddhism offered.

“Zazen will help you to seek the true self by emptying your self-consciousness and judgmental thinking,” said Yoshikuni’s father, Jogen Yoshikuni, the chief priest.

Sitting straight and pressing your hands together is a posture to symbolize humbling yourself and meditating to see things with your mind’s eye, he said.

The chief priest said he is pleased to see Conan following the teaching – in form, at least.” (quote is from an article by Chiyomi Sumida Stars and Stripes Scene, Sunday, April 20, 2008 – you can also find some cute photos there!)

Conan most probably has his mind on his treats and not the spiritual path! Now he puts himself into the “prayer” position in front of the visitors and is richly rewarded!

Here is a link to another article with photos: http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/03/24/1386137-dog-prays-at-japanese-zen-temple

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did.

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com

Change Your Mind Day 2008 was celebrated on June 7th, 2008. (The first Saturday in June)

In 1993 Tricycle (a Buddhist magazine in the United States) created Change Your Mind Day, “an afternoon of free meditation instruction, as a way of introducing the general public to Buddhist thought and practice. Tricycle decided to hold the teachings out of doors, as in the time of the Buddha, in the hopes of welcoming people who otherwise might shy away from the formality of a zendo or gompa.”

The organisation booked a hill in central Park and a few hundred people showed up for the first Change Your Mind Day.  There were newcomers as well as experienced meditators.

The following text is taken directly from Tricycle’s website:

“Seven Buddhist teachers from different lineages gave instruction. Allen Ginsberg and Philip Glass performed “Do the Meditation Rock.”  Maggie Newman got the crowd up on their feet to do twenty minutes of tai-ch’i. And a lone shakuhachi — a Japanese flute — ended the day as the sun began to set behind the trees.

Change Your Mind Day has since grown into a worldwide event and will now be held annually on the first Saturday in June. In response to growing interest, Tricycle began providing international access to this event in 2007 by hosting a virtual Change Your Mind Day. We now provide audio and video files of guided dharma talks on our website, thus making a growing library of dharma resources available to anyone with a computer.

In addition, the Tricycle website serves as the host site for Change Your Mind Days around the world. Some of these gatherings are large, and attract thousands of people, while others consist of a handful of people who sit together and read guided meditations from various Buddhist traditions. But whether attended by many or few, the event is always powerful, connecting thousands of silent sitters around the globe.”

Below is the link for more information:

www.tricycle.com/foundation/change.html

The reason I found out about “Change Your Mind Day” was a Sports Programme called “Grandstand” on ABC Radio. The show revolved around tennis, how the famous players get and stay “in the Zone” and how meditation and awareness can be helpful in getting and maintaining that intense focus that is evident in the very successful players. The commentators’ view was that some past tennis players had highly developed technical skills but could not maintain their focus so their careers never amounted to anything. It seems that intense focus is crucial for success in any field and that highly developed skills are only part of the story. Some food for thought here and all the more reason to meditate regularly.

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com