The health benefits of yoga

* Stress reduction. With its quiet, precise movements, yoga draws your focus away from your busy, chaotic day and toward calm as you move your body through poses that require balance and concentration.
* Increased fitness. As you learn and refine new poses, you may enjoy improved balance, flexibility, range of motion and strength. And this means you're less likely to injure yourself in other physical endeavors or in your daily activities.
* Management of chronic health conditions. Yoga might help with a variety of health conditions, such as cancer, depression, pain, anxiety and insomnia, by helping with sleep problems, fatigue and mood. Yoga also can help reduce heart rate and blood pressure.
* Weight loss. If you're overweight or have binge-eating disorder, yoga may help you make the healthy lifestyle changes necessary to gain control of your eating and drop those extra pounds.

While you shouldn't expect yoga to cure you or offer 100 percent relief, it can help some health conditions when combined with standard treatment. And if you already enjoy good health, yoga can be an enjoyable supplement to your regular fitness routine.

Yoga- Part of Meditation

Yoga is considered a mind-body type of complementary and alternative medicine practice. Yoga brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety. Traditional yoga philosophy requires that students adhere to this mission through behavior, diet and meditation. But if you're just looking for better stress management — whether because of life's daily hassles or a health problem you're facing — and not an entire lifestyle change or way of life, yoga can still help.

Yoga has many styles, forms and intensities. Hatha yoga, in particular, may be a good choice for stress management. Hatha is one of the most common styles of yoga, and some beginners find it easier to practice because of its slower pace and easier movements. But most people can benefit from any style of yoga — it's all about your personal preferences.

Relaxation Meditation

This technique will help you relax and is a meditation of the body. Be aware that if you are already sleepy, this practice may put you to sleep. If that is not your goal, be mindful of drowsiness.

Lie down on a bed or yoga mat. Get into a comfortable position and relax your body. Then move through a simple procedure of 'stretch and relax' of parts of your body.

* Start with your toes. Slowly curl your toes in tightly while inhaling and then gently stretch your toes, fully extending them while exhaling. Then relax that part of your body fully. Give it a full breath and imagine all tension from that part of the body leaving you with your exhale. If you still feel tension in that area, repeat this entire for that body part.
* Move up your legs and tighten and then stretch your calves. Make sure to synchronize your movements with your breath, tension with inhale, relaxation & stretching with exhale.

Continue with the rest of the body moving up

1. Toes
2. Thighs
3. Hips
4. Lower back / stomach
5. Upper back / shoulders
6. Upper arms
7. Hands / Lower arms
8. Neck
9. Face (you may have to open your mouth or even say “Ahh” as part of the relaxation).

You may repeat these processes as many times as needed to become fully relaxed. You may also change the order and move from your head down to your toes. When the whole of your body is relaxed, only your mind remains active and from here you can continue to a different meditation.

Meditation of Breath

Go to your meditation location and sit comfortably on a small pillow or folded towel. Keep your back “straight”, meaning do not slump. Keep your head up and straight. Relax your eyes. If you wish to close them, do so. Try to clear your mind of everything besides yourself sitting, breathing, and relaxing.

Breathe deeply through the nose for a count of four. Feel the air enter your nose, move down to your chest and fill your lungs. Hold your breath for a count of four. Then exhale slowly for a count of four. Feel as the air leaves your lungs and goes through your nose. Some also hold their breath for a count of four at this point. Try it and see if this helps you. Repeat this for the duration of your meditation. You should be thinking about your breath the entire time. Feel the air enter you, filling you with life giving oxygen, and then leave you with waste gases. Contemplate the fact that you breathe every moment of your life and almost never think about it. This is the time to be thinking about it. Feel how your body moves when you breathe.

An important part of this meditation is concentration. As your mind clears, thoughts will come up. As this happens, just note to yourself that you were thinking and bring your mind back to your breath. Don't get upset that you let your mind wander. It's a good sign, a healthy reaction from your personality trying to reclaim your mind. As you let yourself be in control of your mind most of the time, meditation is the time where you let your mind be empty. You may note that the faucet in the next room still drips every so often, or that people drive by with loud radios, but you let your attention to them just be noted and return your thoughts to your breath.

This can be helpful at random times in life when circumstance gets you stressed out. You are still breathing and can divert your mind for just a few moments to your breath and reclaim the calm of meditation.

Hinduism and Meditaion

The earliest clear references to meditation in Hindu literature are in the middle Upanishads and the Mahabharata, which includes the Bhagavad Gita. According to Gavin Flood, the earlier Brihadaranyaka Upanishad refers to meditation when it states that "having becoming calm and concentrated, one perceives the self within oneself".

Raja Yoga (sometimes simply referred to as Yoga) is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, focusing on meditation. Dhyana, or meditation, is the seventh of eight limbs of the Raja Yoga path as expounded by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. Patanjali recommended "meditation with the Lord as the object" as a part of the spiritual practices (sadhana) that leads to samadhi, or blissful inner peace. The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit yuj, which means "to control", "to yoke", "to unite", and refers to techniques and disciplines of asceticism and meditation which lead to spiritual experience. The practices of Yoga help one to control the mind and senses so the ego can be transcended and the true self experienced, leading to moksha or liberation. Meditation in Hinduism is not confined to any school or sect and has expanded beyond Hinduism to the West.

The different types of Yoga in Hinduism are designed to appeal to varieties of personality types, but to take the sincere practitioner to the same destinations in each case: first samadhi in which non-dual consciousness is experienced only in meditation and then samadhi where non-dual consciousness is experienced throughout waking activities.

The influential modern proponent of Hinduism who first introduced Eastern philosophy to the West in the late 19th century, Swami Vivekananda, describes meditation as follows:

Islam & Meditation

A Muslim is obliged to pray at least five times a day: once before sunrise, at noon, in the afternoon, after sunset, and once at night. During prayer a Muslim focuses and meditates on God by reciting the Qur'an and engaging in dhikr to reaffirm and strengthen the bond between Creator and creation. This guides the soul to truth. Such meditation is intended to help maintain a feeling of spiritual peace, in the face of whatever challenges work, social or family life may present.

The five daily acts of peaceful prayer are to serve as a template and inspiration for conduct during the rest of the day, transforming it, ideally, into one single and sustained meditation: even sleep is to be regarded as but another phase of that sustained meditation

Meditative quiescence is said to have a quality of healing, and—in contemporary terminology—enhancing creativity. The Islamic prophet Muhammad spent sustained periods in contemplation and meditation. It was during one such period that Muhammad began to receive the revelations of the Qur'an.

Practice Meditation

No matter what the cause of the stress, its physical expression is the same. Harvard Physiologist Walter Cannon discovered 90 years ago that when we are stressed, our blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and breathing rate increases, so does the flow of cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline in our body. Together, these physiological effects are called the stress response or the fight or flight response.

In 1967, Dr. Herbert Bension, also from Harvard, found the effect of meditation in our body is exactly the opposite. When we meditate, our blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and breathing rate, cortisol and adrenaline secretion, all go down. Our parasympathetic nervous system becomes active and the flow of serotonin, a neuro transmitter than creates a feeling of well-being, increases.

So if you meditate regularly, your body will change in a way so that it gets less and less stressed no matter what the circumstance. You will be able to deal with all situations calmly.

Change Your Life by Changing Your Attitude

“One of the most important discoveries of my generation is that by changing ones attitude one can change one's life,” said one of the most notable philosophers and psychologists of the twentieth century.

This is indeed true. The human brain is immensely powerful and has the power to transform any logical desire into reality. But decades of research in fields like psychoneuroimmunology shows that just as the hardware in a computer is run by software, so is our brain run by our mind. And our mind is driven by our attitude.

Scientists say attitude or mindset can be of two types.

1.Proactive
2.Reactive

In order to change our lives in a positive direction, we need to change our attitude from reactive to proactive.

Shilpa Shetty Practices Meditation

Indian actor Shilpa Shetty practices yoga meditation so that she has got very attractive figure as well as the beautiful skin. She has written down books or articles over her practicing of yoga meditaion.

She had participated on a reality show BIG BOSS and is the winner of the show. She was seen doing meditation regularly.

For doing yoga meditation she became the most attractive bollywood female actor. She wrote the book on yoga meditation, named SHILPA"S YOGA. Where she described about doing yoga meditation.

Quantum- Science of Living

For a healthy, happy and successful life, we need a complete and holistic life-view. This is what is missing in today’s world. Most of us are trapped in narrow thinking. An accountant thinks he can solve all problems with accounting, an engineer believes technology is the solution to everything. The doctor believes medicine and surgery can restore perfect health. The bureaucrat believes he alone has the key to all the solutions. After a university professor gets his doctorate, he feels as if he now has all the knowledge in the world. Alems and priests believe religious practices are the panacea for every problem. A young man or woman thinks getting a job in a multinational company is everything in life. But there is an ocean-like gap between these and a successful and fulfilling life. Because we cannot breach this gap, we fall victim to disease, misery and despair.

The truth is life is the summation of all these things. According to World Health Organization, health is ‘a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.’ So, we need much more than medicine and nutritious food for good health.

Quantum is this science of living which tells us how to live successfully and how to do the least harm and the most good. We are trying to enlighten ourselves and others in the light of this science of living, changing lives in the process.

Quantum and Meditation

Quantum foundation is a non profit organization where one can get to know how to meditate. Shahid Al Bukhari is the owner of the organization.

Quantum is the 'science of living' of people of modern times, based on universal truths and scientific knowledge. Its goal is to develop our infinite potential fully by using the power of meditation.

Quantum Method embodies the spirit of Quantum. Over the last sixteen years Quantum Method has proved itself to be the method of making the seemingly impossible, possible. When we are ill, and the doctor says there is no hope, health seems impossible. When we have hit the rock bottom of despair, and can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, happiness seems like an illusion. And when we have failed miserably despite all efforts, and the whole world seems to be against us, success seems like a distant dream

Meditation throughout the ages

Meditation is a universal process. It is the path of meditation that led the Buddha to enlightenment. His disciples still meditate to reach nirvana. In Jesus’ life prayer and meditation were inseparable. Prophet Mohammad spent years meditating in a cave in Mount Hera. The Holy Quran was sent upon him while he was in deep meditation.

Spiritual seekers from all ages and places have used this process to attain self realization. Hindu sages practiced yogic meditation in order to unite with the universal spirit.

Sree Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He initiated a large scale revival of spirituality during the British era and popularized meditation and spirituality among the intellectuals and commoners alike.

Meditation’s Influence on Brain Activity

The growing popularity of meditation has stimulated scientific investigation on how the technique influences brain function.

“Given the popularity and effectiveness of meditation as a means of alleviating stress and maintaining good health, there is a pressing need for a rigorous investigation of how it affects brain function,” says Professor Jim Lagopoulos.

Lagopoulos is the principal investigator of a joint study on changes in electrical brain activity during non-directive or mindfulness meditation.

The brain always has some level of activity whether we are mentally active, resting or asleep. In the study, researchers monitored the frequency and location of electrical brain waves through the use of EEG (electroencephalography).

Participants were experienced practitioners of Acem Meditation, a nondirective method developed in Norway.

They were asked to rest, eyes closed, for 20 minutes, and to meditate for another 20 minutes, in random order. The abundance and location of slow to fast electrical brain waves (delta, theta, alpha, beta) provide a good indication of brain activity.

During meditation, theta waves were most abundant in the frontal and middle parts of the brain.

“These types of waves likely originate from a relaxed attention that monitors our inner experiences. Here lies a significant difference between meditation and relaxing without any specific technique,” emphasizes Lagopoulos.

“Previous studies have shown that theta waves indicate deep relaxation and occur more frequently in highly experienced meditation practitioners. The source is probably frontal parts of the brain, which are associated with monitoring of other mental processes.”

“When we measure mental calm, these regions signal to lower parts of the brain, inducing the physical relaxation response that occurs during meditation.”

Alpha waves were more abundant in the posterior parts of the brain during meditation than during simple relaxation. They are characteristic of wakeful rest.

“This wave type has been used as a universal sign of relaxation during meditation and other types of rest,” comments Professor Øyvind Ellingsen from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

“The amount of alpha waves increases when the brain relaxes from intentional, goal-oriented tasks.This is a sign of deep relaxation, but it does not mean that the mind is void.”

Neuroimaging studies by Malia F. Mason and co-workers at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire suggest that the normal resting state of the brain is a silent current of thoughts, images and memories that is not induced by sensory input or intentional reasoning, but emerges spontaneously “from within.”

“Spontaneous wandering of the mind is something you become more aware of and familiar with when you meditate,” continues Ellingsen, who is an experienced practitioner.

“This default activity of the brain is often underestimated. It probably represents a kind of mental processing that connects various experiences and emotional residues, puts them into perspective and lays them to rest.”

Delta waves are characteristic of sleep. There was little delta during the relaxing and meditative tasks, confirming that nondirective meditation is different from sleep.

Beta waves occur when the brain is working on goal-oriented tasks, such as planning a date or reflecting actively over a particular issue. EEG showed few beta waves during meditation and resting.

“These findings indicate that you step away from problem solving both when relaxing and during meditation,” says Ellingsen.

Several studies indicate better relaxation and stress management by meditation techniques where you refrain from trying to control the content of the mind.

“These methods are often described as nondirective, because practitioners do not actively pursue a particular experience or state of mind.

“They cultivate the ability to tolerate the spontaneous wandering of the mind without getting too much involved. Instead of concentrating on getting away from stressful thought and emotions, you simple let them pass in an effortless way.”

Nondirective meditation yields more marked changes in electrical brain wave activity associated with wakeful, relaxed attention, than just resting without any specific mental technique.

Meditation For Relaxation

This is an easy and quick mini meditation that will help to relax you and expand your spiritual consciousness.

Follow the steps below:

1) Start in a quiet and peaceful place where there are no interruptions such as phones, traffic etc. Make yourself comfortable such as in a chair or sofa. Quiet down, relaz your body, then slowlt inhale and exhale. This is the time to get yourself mindful and centered.

2) Place the palm of your right hand over your heart chakra. Center your thoughts on a person, a location or any thought that you cherish. It can even be a memory. Localize your energy to your midchest area and begin thinking beautiful thoughts.

3) Visualize your thoughts as if they are clouds slowly drifting in the sky above you. This is to detach from your thoughts. They will float by as they pass in and then out of your awareness spirituality. Keep breathing deeply and slowly to keep yourself centered.

4) Pay close attention to the sensations in the center of your heart. No matter whether they are clode, warm, strong or weak. You will soon feel a strong vortex of beautiful postivive energy that will flow out to the rest of your body.