BREATHE

I love you. Breathing can transform your life.

If you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will help bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it for longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.

—

Tip: Put the word “Breathe” as a screensaver or desktop pic, or put it up as a note on your wall or fridge or on your desk. Then do it every time you see the word.

Love:)
Isabella
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ASHTANGA - FROM RAMANA MAHARSHI

Ramana Maharshi is a great Indian sage. I wanted to share his view on Ashtanga with you. I love him and I love you.

(1) Yama:- this stands, for the cultivation of such principles of

good conduct as non-violence (ahimsa), truth (satya), non-

stealing (asteya), celibacy (brahmacharya), and non-possession (apari-graha).

(2) Niyama:- this stands for the observance of such rules of good conduct as purity (saucha), contentment (santosha), austerity (tapas), study of the sacred texts (svadhyaya), and devotion to God (Isvara-pranidhana).

(3) Asana:- Of the different postures

, eighty-four are the main ones. Of these, again, four, viz., simha, bhadra, padma, and siddha5 are said to be excellent. Of these too, it is only siddha, that is the most excellent. Thus the yoga-texts declare.

(4) Pranayama:- According to the measures prescribed in the sacred texts, exhaling the vital air is rechaka, inhaling is puraka and retaining it in the heart is kumbhaka. As regards ‘measure’, some texts say that rechaka and puraka should be equal in measure, and kumbhaka twice that measure, while other texts say that if rechaka is one measure, puraka should be of two measures, and kumbhaka of four. By ‘measure’ what is meant is the time that would be taken for the utterance. The aim of yama and niyama is the attainment

of all good paths open to those eligible for moksha. For more details see works like the Yoga-sutra, Hathayoga-dipika.

5. Siddhasana: Left heel should be placed over the genital organ and over that, the right heel. Fixing one’s gaze between the eyebrows one’s body should be motionless and erect like a stick.

6. Although it is true that the lotus in the crown of the head is said to have a thousand petals, it also may be described as having eight petals because each of these eight consists of 125 sub-petals of the Gayatrimantra once. Thus pranayama consisting of rechaka, puraka, and kumbhaka, should be practised daily according to ability, slowly and gradually. Then, there would arise for the mind a desire to rest in happiness without moving. After this, one should practise pratyahara. (5) Pratyahara:- This is regulating the mind by preventing it from flowing towards the external names and forms. The mind, which had been till then distracted, now becomes controlled. The aids in this respect are (1) meditation on the pranava, (2) fixing the attention betwixt the eyebrows, (3) looking at the tip of the nose, and (4) reflection on the nada. The mind that has thus become one-pointed will be fit to stay in one place. After this, dharana should be practised.

(6) Dharana:- This is fixing the mind in a locus which is fit for meditation. The loci that are eminently fit for meditation are the heart and Brahma-randhra (aperture in the crown of the head). One should think that in the middle of the eight-petalled lotus6 that is at this place there shines, like a flame, the Deity which is the Self, i.e. Brahman, and fix the mind therein. After this, one should meditate.

(7) Dhyana:- This is meditation, through the ‘I am He’ thought, that one is not different from the nature of the aforesaid flame. Even, thus, if one makes the enquiry ‘Who am I?’, then, as the Scripture declares, “The Brahman which is everywhere shines in the heart as the Self that is the witness of the intellect”, one would realize that is the Divine Self that shines in the heart as ‘I-I’. This mode of reflection is the best meditation.

(8) Samadhi:- As a result of the fruition of the aforesaid meditation, the mind gets resolved in the object of meditation without harbouring the ideas ‘I am such and such; I am doing this and this’. This subtle state in which even the thought ‘I-I’ disappears is samadhi. If one practises this every day, seeing to it that sleep does not supervene, God will soon confer on one the supreme state of quiescence of mind.

 

SELF - ENQUIRY
(VICHARASANGRAHAM)

RAMANA MAHARSHI

I hope this is very helpful for all of you:)

Isabella

Preparation For Perfect Meditation, Relaxation and Happiness

The first 4 external requirements of ultimate and endless happiness, yoga, ashtanga, perfect meditation samadhi and nirvana are; 1. Yama (moral codes), 2. Niyama (self-purification and study), 3. Asana (posture), 4. Pranayama (breath control).

Yama includes Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha. Ahimsa is the main yama. Ahimsa is to refrain from injury, refrain from causing pain to any creature in thought, word or deed at all times. In Mahabharata it is stated “How can you expect compassion from a meat-eater”. As compassion is the foundation of Nirvana, please take a moment to think about it. The entire natural, green, eco-friendly movements attracting trillions of dollars of investment is a good sign to observe that mankind is starting to understand Ahimsa in a larger scale.

Satya is being truthful in word and thought all the time. Asteya mans avoidance of stealing, not coveting, not hoarding, not obstructing other people's desires in life. Brahmacharya means continence, celibate when single and faithful when married. In yoga, it is disciplining the use of sexual energy. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras it is one of the 5 Yamas and it causes unbounded energy or vitality. Aparigraha is non-possessiveness.

Niyama includes Shaucha (purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (austerity), Svadhyaya (self-study and study of spiritual scriptures) and Ishvarapranidhana (self-surrender to divinity).

Asana means posture and pranayama means breath control.

These requirements mentioned above (yama, niyama, asana and pranayama) are the external requiremenst we need to achieve in order to attain self-realization and hence nirvana and ultimate happiness. The inner requirements are Pratyahara (sense control), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), Samadhi (contemplation) follow the external requirements and i will try to share detailed explaination of these in my next article.
I wish you all a perfect day and life full of endless happiness :)
Emma
For more information yoga, you may visit
http://easyashtanga.blogspot.com

Sri Guruji Pattabhi Jois

"After asana & pranayama are perfect, pratyahara, sense control [the fifth limb of ashtanga yoga], follows. The first four limbs are external exercises: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama. The last four are internal, and they automatically follow when the first four are mastered. Pratyahara means that anywhere you look, you see God. Good mind control gives that capacity, so that when you look, everything you see is Atman (the God within). Then for you the world is colored by God. Whatever you see, you identify it with your Atman. The scriptures say that a true yogi's mind is so absorbed in the lotus feet of the Lord that nothing distracts him, no matter what happens in the external world."
Sri Guruji Pattabhi Jois