Archive for March, 2009
Spiritual Warrior
Posted by at 29th March, 2009
I have a lot of favorite yoga poses, but if I just had to pick one it would be Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II). It appears fairly simple, but so much can be achieved in this pose (so much can be felt in this pose if you hold it long enough!!).
At first, it’s all about just trying to stay in the pose while your thigh and shoulders are screaming at you, but once you find proper alignment and connect with your breath, Warrior II is so peaceful. It’s like a peaceful warrior; strong, focused, and courageous!
With practice, you begin to feel how strong the thigh is and come to appreciate it, and the shoulders are there, but you’re relaxed. This feels good. You keep holding. Then maybe it’s not so good, but wait I’m thinking about my thigh. Breathe! Okay, feels better.
As thoughts like this go on in your head, you must remember to breathe. It’s with the breath that this pose becomes meditative. And, it’s the breath that allows you to relax when you’re in an uncomfortable position. It’s the breath that allows you to just be in the pose, rather than doing the pose.
Here’s some alignment points (based on the picture above):
- The left leg is bent to a 90 degree angle.
- Weight is on the center of the left heel, and the toes relaxed (knee is stacked over the heel).
- Open the hip by taking the left knee towards the left “baby” toe.
- Lift the left hip crease off the left thigh (this will help get the spine vertical).
- Outside edge of the right foot is grounded down.
- The spine is extended upward in a vertical line.
- Arms are open out extending in both directions, feeling the arms strong and long (so to gain space in the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints).
- Shoulders are relaxed down, away from the ears.
- Gaze is out over your left hand.
- Hold & BREATHE.
- Then hit the other side!
Physically, Warrior II will increase your stamina, and strengthen your legs, ankles, and arms. It’s great for stretching and opening your chest, shoulders, hips, and groin. It relieves backaches, great for flat feet, and get this…infertility! It even helps with carpal tunnel and sciatica.
Practice Warrior II often…it’s a great spiritual teacher!
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- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (naturalmedicine.suite101.com)
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- Stop! Slow down to access faster vibration. (using-spiritual-energy.blogspot.com)
- Mindfulness Meditation: Reducing Anxiety by Focusing on the Present Moment (psychcentral.com)
- Win this beautiful amethyst and Czech glass necklace made by me! (dailygratitudeblog.blogspot.com)
- Fertility expert warns ‘don’t rush into treatment’ (telegraph.co.uk)
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The Feeling Door to Energy
Posted by at 28th March, 2009
Super Abundant Bloggers Week 7
Posted by at 27th March, 2009
Welcome To Week 7 SABs
The people chosen and their blogs will exemplify abundance, abundant thinking and generosity of spirit: they will also inspire me.
Drum roll for this week 7 SABS: This week features 3 fellow Super Abundant Aussie Bloggers!
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Michelle Connolly provides an abundance of both free and paid resources that will help you get organized and take charge of your life. This weekend I will be reviewing Inbox Zen. This ebook looks like a great way to become both organized and simplify your email. I will report back next week
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Kelly has a great tag line for She-Power: Writing with attitude. Kelly’s openness and honesty comes through in her writing. I love the “aging rebel” in her tagline, the only way to be. It what keeps us young at heart:)
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And here is the official SAB badge for these bloggers to choose to proudly display.
be inspired
Suzie
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Studying the Joy of Sox
Posted by at 27th March, 2009
While I’m in Scottsdale, Arizona for a three day seminar studying manifesting and energy through horses, I thought this study of manifesting and energy in sports an appropriate topic to share today.
This piece comes from the Major League Baseball site and is written by Doug Miller. I think you’ll appreciate hearing about the open minds studying law of attraction in the real world:
The 2004 Boston Red Sox were down, three games to none, to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series — a deficit no Major League Baseball team had ever overcome in a seven-game set.
In the ninth inning of Game 4 at Fenway Park, with the Sox down a run, Dave Roberts stole a base, Bill Mueller knocked him in to tie it, and David Ortiz’s 12th-inning home run sent Fenway Park into a frenzy and gave the Sox and their Nation of fans new life that eventually culminated with the club’s first World Series championship in 86 years.
This we all know.
But did something extra-special happen that night?
Did something outside the realm of bats and gloves and balls and baselines and outfield grass and pine tar and eye black somehow arrange for these astounding, never-witnessed events to transpire?
That’s what the makers of the film “The Joy of Sox: ‘Weird Science’ and the Power of Intention” are finding out, and the results are nothing short of shocking, heartwarming, and illuminating.
“The Joy of Sox,” which is set to hit theaters by early November, is a documentary that asks if the power of positive thoughts and prayers from Red Sox fans have actually, scientifically played some role in bringing the team two World Series rings in the last four years.
According to the film’s Web site, thejoyofsoxmovie.com, the movie “touches all the bases from Western science to Eastern metaphysics as it explores the physics of the home-field advantage, the power of Red Sox fandom’s positive intentions, and the phenomenon of ‘conditioned spaces,’ a term which describes the healing powers of Lourdes, but just as fitting for Fenway Park — a modern sacred space.”
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Joel Leskowitz, who produced the film with his cousin, Rick Leskowitz, M.D., and Karen Webb, “The Joy of Sox” follows up on Rick Leskowitz’s findings as a board-certified psychiatrist with the Pain Management Program at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, where he began investigating if alternative medicine had any links to Red Sox Nation.
“We measured crowd energy during a live baseball game and correlated the events of the game with readings on a computer that was not measuring volume or sound or vibration,” Rick said.
“It’s a setup used at Princeton for the last 30 years to study mind-machine interactions. And I know it sounds totally woo-woo, but Princeton’s a highly respected place, and those studies were done by the head of the engineering department.”
Rick explained that if you have an unmonitored computer program that simulates flipping a coin 1,000 times per second, you’ll usually get heads and tails about half the time.
“But if people are paying attention to computer, it skews to a significant degree away from 50-50,” he said. “I’m not sure why, but something invisible is connecting to it.”
And when the same program applies to a watched Sox game, the results are staggering.
“The times with the biggest skew away from randomness seemed to be during key moments in the ballgame, like (David) Ortiz hitting or the crowd doing the wave. And during a two-hour block, the biggest skew was when fans sang ‘Sweet Caroline.’ It’s hard to wrap your head around, but data’s data.”
Hours and hours of interviews with doctors from the fields of alternative medicine, holistic medicine, directors of research, professors from some of the leading institutions in the country, not to mention Red Sox players past and present — including Johnny Pesky, Jerry Remy, Mike Timlin, Gabe Kapler, Kevin Millar and Bill “Spaceman” Lee — reveal theories about winning baseball that are unique and innovative.
“Anything that can make a difference of a few points in their batting averages or ERA, that’s something a player will try,” Joel Leskowitz says. “They’re not all meditating together, but they have seen films like ‘The Secret,’ and they know about intangible things like team chemistry and the power of positive thinking.
“We’re looking for a balance. There’s the science and the data, there’s what we get out of talking to the players about their experiences, and then there’s the fans. And they talk about their passion that’s pretty out there. Fan is a shortened version of fanatic, and we definitely had some fanatics.”
So what do you think? Does fan-power translate into real life results able to affect outcomes of games? (You probably know what I think: “How could it NOT??”) As usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Laughter is the Sunshine of the Soul
Posted by at 27th March, 2009
Let’s face it, everyone benefits from a daily dose of laughter. It is no joke that laughter is good for a person’s overall health and well-being. Laughter is a physiological reaction to an inward state of joy. The emotional release that it provides signals acceptance and connects people to one another. Laughter is a social activity that is instantly contagious. It only takes one person to initiate a wave of laughter that lightens the overall mood of a group. So what is it that makes laughter a natural pathway to enhance physical vitality and happiness?
Laughter is instant transformation. Negative thoughts and emotions cease to exist when laughter is present. In fact the brain stops thinking entirely! During times of challenge, studies have proven that if a person finds it within them to laugh at the matter at hand, it dramatically shifts ones perspective from negative to positive. Not taking life too seriously allows one to be more at ease with their current environment. Approaching challenging situations in a playful manner is more conducive to creative problem solving. Not only is laughing productive in assisting one to shift their focus, but it gives the diaphragm and the upper body a great work out. Exercising in this manner relaxes the muscles, increases endorphin levels, and boosts the immune system.
Studies also show that people who laugh often are able to sustain lasting states of happiness. In turn, they are rewarded with longer life spans, better health and subsequently attract larger amounts of money than those who move through life unhappy. Feeling happy is a natural state of BEING and laughter is the key that opens the gates for joy to flood into our life experiences. Laughing truly allows one to feel the inherent joy and freedom that is our divine birthright. This is naturally expressed in babies who learn to laugh before they speak. Children that are born deaf and blind possess the same natural ability to laugh. In truth, everyone is capable of laughter and we all laugh in the same way. We are all connected by our ability to laugh. Laughing is the sunshine of the soul and when expressed, it creates an increase of joy on the planet that everyone can benefit from.
Obtaining an increased level of happiness is achievable right NOW. Laughter is one of nature’s best medicines and it is free! You can achieve a greater amount of happiness and laughter in your life with these following suggestions:
• Set the intention in the beginning of the day to actively seek out reasons to laugh. Starting the day in this manner suggests the anticipation of good things to come. The expectation of a positive mental state activates immediate physiological and emotional responses. This leads to the release of endorphins that flood the emotions with joy and well-being. When you fill your mind with happy thoughts and feelings at the start of the day, you will be sure to attract many experiences that that are equivalent to the nature of your dominant intent. This is deliberately putting the Law of Attraction to positive use.
• Make a point to get together with a group of friends on a daily basis. Instead of focusing on problems, make it a point to act silly and giggle. Play games, dance or share funny stories. We have a natural tendency to enjoy sustained periods of laughter when we are in comfortable environments amongst friends. Studies show that we laugh harder and longer when we interact in groups than if we were to watch something funny in a movie or on TV.
• There are institutions and instructors that specifically focus on teaching the art of laughing. Laugh clubs and laugh yoga groups are becoming more and more popular. Seek them out and find out what they have to offer.
• Spend time with children. They overflow with laughter. It is said that children laugh up to 400 times a day. Children are a natural testament to the truth of source. They intuitively know that play and laughter are vital to feeling good. Since it is our birthright to freely experience the joy of our BEING, children are the purest expression. Have you ever noticed that witnessing a child belly laugh brings a smile an instant smile to your face? Join the fun by playing with kids and be sure to initiate a good tickle fest so you can laugh too.
• Remember a time that you could not stop laughing. Focus on it until you get the giggles. Notice how easy it is to arouse joy by remembering a hilarious moment in your life.
Allowing more laughter into your life is a decision and like optimism it can be learned. When a person chooses to experience more laughter and actively seeks it out, they begin to appreciate the profound positive effect that it has on the emotions and physical body. Aligning with the joy and freedom that is ones natural birthright through laughing will uplift others in the process. It is amazing how the joy of laughter provides more meaning and purpose in one’s life on many different levels. Open the door to the abundance of life by laughing often. Laughter is a short cut to easily achieve all your desired dreams. Imagine what you can create by choosing more joy and laughter to flow into your life experience in this very moment. Laughter opens the heart and sets the spirit free. NOW is the time to live life laughing.
© 2009 Elizabeth Pagayonan: Creating Intentions
All Rights Reserved.
