YOGA AND ME

How will you get started?

To begin with, relax and make yourself comfortable.

There are several parameters you should keep in mind before you start practicing yoga to obtain optimum results.

Time: The ideal time for practicing yoga is early in the morning. It is preferred to keep the stomach empty. In fact, you are advised to keep a gap of about two hours before having breakfast or meals and after Yoga.
 A maximum time period of 30 min. should be enough in the beginning for the complete session of yoga. Later on you can add another 15 min. for techniques like pranayama and end it with meditation to completely calm the mind and spirit.

Place: Selection of place is a very crucial factor in starting your yoga practice. Yoga is not merely a set of exercises. Rather it is a practice wherein all our endocrine glands are stimulated, thus calming our mind. Therefore a quite and airy place is preferred or else an open place like a garden with lots of fresh air is quite helpful.

Clothes: Try to wear clothes that will not hamper your movements and are not too tight or binding. This will aid you in learning and concentrating on your asana.
Over and above these, there are things like how much time you can devote to a particular asana, when to inhale and exhale, and synchronization of the asanas, that is, which asanas should be performed back to back in a sequence. All the above parameters vary accordingly, corresponding to various asanas.

Some Important Points to remember gefore starting a Yoga Session :

• Yoga should be under the guidance of a Teacher
• A warmup should be helpful before starting it.
• Chanting a Mantra before and after the session is beneficial.

I am giving you the method of some of the basic asanas a beginner can start with, for your perusal:

Learn and Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

Prasritta Padottanasana: ( Wide Stance Forward Fold)

Take a standing position on your mat. Keep your feet wide apart and put your hands on your hips. Inhale deeply and stretch yourself up. Exhale and bend down from your hips and look behind. Put both your hands on the floor between your legs with your elbows pointing behind you. This is the simple Wide Stance Forward Fold Pose – Prasrita Padottanasana.

 Rotated version
 Now put your right hand on your right hip. Exhale and stretch it up towards the ceiling. Take care that there is no bend in the arm from the elbow and the fingers are pointing straight towards the ceiling. Turn your head to look up at the fingers of your raised arm. Slowly bring your hand to the original position on the floor and repeat the same pose for the left side for an equal amount of time. 

 Common for both
After doing the pose on the left side, slowly unwind and return both the hands once again to the floor and slowly straighten up to your original standing position.

Utthita Parsakonasana (Extended Side Angle Pose)

  

Stand with your feet 2 – 3 feet apart and exhale. Lift your arms so that they are parallel to the ground. Turn your left foot slightly towards the right side and twist your right foot at an angle of 90 degrees. Inhale and extend your left hand above your head in such a way that it touched your left ear and the palm faces the ground. Got it? Now make sure that both the hand and the leg are combined and appear as a tight slanting line. Turn your head to look at your left hand. Maintain this stance for a few seconds. Now bend your right knee in such a way that the leg from the knee down is perpendicular to the floor, whereas the thigh is parallel to it. Take care to align your knee with the centre of your foot. Along with bending the leg, touch your right hand to your right ankle in such a way that it touches the outer side of your knee. Stay in this pose for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stretch as much as possible and then return to the standing position and relax. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for the left side also and complete the asana.

 Malasana (Garland Pose)

Take a standing position with your feet wide apart and your hands by your sides. Now exhale and squat down on the ground and open out your thighs.. See that they are spread wide beyond your feet. If your heals lift up in the beginning, then put a folded towel to support them and help press down. To facilitate even further, the toes can be rotated by 45 degrees outside so that your hips can come even closer to the ground. Now move your body foreword so that it fits between both your knees. Now move your hands in a loop joining the palms into a ‘namaskar’ or salutation. Press your inner thighs to your torso and lenghthen your spine. Hold onto this position for 30 sec. to 1 min. But, take care not to overdo it. Inhale and return your knees to normal position and then slowly come to your original standing position. 

Twist, Turn and Squat to Detox, Relax and Release!!

Practicing yoga ultimately leads you to do long phases of meditation. The Garland Pose-Malasana is one such hip opening asana which prepares you to be seated in a meditation pose for a long time without getting aches and pain. Release tension and garland your life with peace and joy!!

Yoga and My Guru.... Swami Sri Manuvaryaji _/\_

I am from the old school which preaches, “Prevention is better than cure”.

Today’s mechanization gives us no chance for exertion. However, I am most thankful to my Father, who introduced me to this wonderful art of Yoga, at a very young age of 12. He used to take me along with him to “Yogashram”-an institution of Yoga run by a renowned Yogi of his time –  Swami Sri Manuvaryaji, in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India).

Guruji was invited to New Delhi by our former Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi to take the place of her Yoga Guru, and ran the Yoga Centers there, quite efficiently, for a couple of years.  

At the time, I think he must be over 70 years of age, but the light on his face was amazing! Since, he was a “Brahmachari” – A yogi observing Celibacy for the lifetime, he did not prefer to teach Yoga directly to older women himself.  He, therefore, would teach me the “Asanas” (yogic poses), and I would then teach those to the ladies wing. It was indeed a blessing in disguise for me!!

He was also invited to give programmes in the national TV many times, and almost always took me as a volunteer to demonstrate the various asanas.

Later on, after many years, I opened a Gym for the ladies, wherein, I taught Yoga for free, since Guruji disliked charging for it and expected us, his disciples, to follow his principles. Whenever someone would enquire about his fees, he would exclaim cheerfully, " Mafee !!"--meaning "sorry" in gujarati language.

Swamiji is no more, but his Ashram is there for us to take inspiration, and his presence is felt by us, even today.

Blessed Be,

                    Namaste,

                                        Ami.

REUSE AND RECYCLE TIPS-Lets adorn mother earth with a green shawl!!

There was a Buddhist monk whose dress tore and the Buddha asked what did you do with it, and he said I made a sheet to cover myself in the cold, and when that tore, the Buddha asked again and he said, I stiched into a door mat to absorb wetness and again when that too tore, he said I used it as a mop to wipe the temple floor clean and when that too disintegrated into shreds, the Buddha asked, "What did you do with that?" and the monk said, "That is the wick that lights the lamp now at your altar Oh Enlightened One!"
--Taken from a post from Swahilya Shambhavi.

Don't throw away CDs.

• Use them as coasters.
• Put them under your pots to protect your floor from getting marked.
• Use them as mirror for plugging into device backed up against a wall, a computer etc.
• Punch a hole on the top of all of them and string them together to make a photo album.
• Write with a marker pen on the mirrored side, the information required, and use them as labels.
• string them together and make a lovely and unique curtain.
• Stick it under a paper plate to make it stiff while eating, and then retain it while disposing the plate.
• Use it as a candle stand .
• Cut it into different shapes and use them for decorating.

HO'OPONOPONO

"We can appeal to Divinity who knows our personal blueprint, for healing of all thoughts and memories that are holding us back at this time,"
-Morrnah Simeona. "

The following four statements make an impact in our lives, if we practice them.

I'm Sorry - I take full responsibility for whatever it is within me that caused this suffering, even if I don't know what it is.

Please Forgive Me - I ask for forgiveness from the Divinity within me with the absolute certainty that it has already been granted.

Thank You -.Gratitude  and  forgiveness ensures that the balance have been restored.

I Love You - Love is the greatest healing power, the painful memories are healed and replaced with love.


Change Your Limiting Thoughts and Beliefs
Using the Following Script

The Script

Spirit/ Super-conscious, please locate the origin of my
feeling(s)/thought(s) of
(insert the negative feeling or what you want to resolve here) _______________________

Take each and every level, layer, area and aspect of my Be-ing to this origin. Analyze and resolve it perfectly, with God's truth.

Come through all generations of time & eternity, healing every incident and it's appendages based on the origin.

Do it according to God's will until I'm at the present, filled with light and truth, God's peace and love, forgiveness of myself for my incorrect perceptions, forgiveness of every person, place, circumstance and event which contributed to this feeling /thought .

With total forgiveness and unconditional love I allow every physical, mental, emotional and spiritual problem, and inappropriate behavior based on the negative origin recorded in my DNA, to transform.

I choose being__________________
I feel______________________
I am_____________________
(insert same positive replacement for each blank.)

It is done. It is healed. It is accomplished now!

Thank you, Spirit, for coming to my aid and helping me attain the full measure of my creation. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you and praise God from whom all blessings flow.

manzile udaan.........by ami.

Edit

manzile udaan.........by ami.

by Ami Patel Mehta on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 4:05pm

Thought of the Day.....

To overcome a judgmental tendency in yourself, observe others who are themselves afflicted with that tendency. 
They judge because they are distrustful of others as well as of themselves. And what they distrust most of all is Originality. 
Their first question in any situation is, "What is proper? What is done?" 
Their vision is narrow because the route they travel is a rut.

                                                                        - Swamy Kriyananda

My Profile, My Notes(from FB)

manzile udaan.....by ami.

by Ami Patel Mehta on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 4:08pm

 

 

सरकते पल"



सरकते पलका दामन, पकडे रखना,
झिन्दगी से थोडी बहोत ,पेहचान रखना

मेहफिलोँमें जानेका मुहावरा, बनाये रखना,
ेक शाम कभी किसीके, नाम रखना

िन्तेझार करनेका हौँसला, कायम रखना,
दरवाजा दिलका खोलके, ाहीस्ता रखना

किसी ौर पर दारोमदार, कम रखना,
तु बस, ापने ापपर, भरोसा रखना,

कहानिका ंत पेहेलेसे सोच रखना,
वक्तका नहीं भरोसा, ामी, याद रखना.


ामीकी ुदान.......

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VAASTU TIP OF THE DAY

A mirror kept in the North-East corner of the House gives beneficial results.
Never keep it in the South-West corner.

Anyone having any questions about Vaastu will be answered.

Gratitude....As a Daily Prayer.

Prayers are the best method to combat problems. They are a direct dialogue between a Higher presence and us. However, many a times, either we do not know what to say or how to say them.

I found out a very effective method of praying - just being thankful about anything and everything!

I simply start out with common things like being thankful for giving me such a beautiful childhood, a healthy body, understanding parents, supporting friends, a forgiving partner, so on and so forth. And as I get into the mood, then as the list of thanksgiving goes on increasing, a great wave of gratitude washes over me and peace prevails in my heart.

After this wonderful experience, I started keeping a list of things and events and people with me, to give my thanks.

The one great advantage of giving gratitude is that it diverts our mind from its woeful tale of how everything is not working out for us, and turns it around to give a positive light to what all we are lucky enough to have with us!!

Another quite effective method , is to keep a journal or maintain a gratitude diary.

Thank you All.....God Bless,
                                              Ami.

GURUPOORNIMA.........Benevolent Bonding On A Full Moon

GURUPOORNIMA...A Full Moon Day with a Difference....

In almost all religions, full moon has its own meaning and importance. In Wicca too, it has a special significance.

Right from my early childhood, I have had a curious fascination for it. It was only after I grew up and studied astrology, did I get the connection. I am born on a Full Moon Day myself, and therefore more intuitive and moody then others. But otherwise also, just as the oceans go mad on these days, so do humans, to a certain extent, since even our body contains 80% water. Our body is magnetised and our mind tuned to the finer channel than the mundane. Especially, the full moon of gurupoornima...it fine tunes our mind and psyche toward the spiritual messages directed to us by the Masters. A special magnetic bonding between the Master and the Disciple takes place on this auspicious day.

In Sai Satcharitra, Sri Baba tells us the importance of a Guru, or a teacher by giving an example of taking a guide with us when going to an unknown place so that we may not be lost. In the same way, when we embark upon the unknown journey of Life, a proper Guide is need to show us the right path. Who better than our Reverend Guru to show us the path of enlightenment? Saint Kabir said that if both the Guru and God appeared before him, he would first bow to his Guru, because without his guidance, how on the earth was he able to even take a glance at God?

Today..this Gurupoornima, has a special meaning to me, because on this day,  I started writing on my blog which was standing since many days waiting for me to do something! so here I am, or am I(the spelling of ami).....Ami :) 

Being Spiritual

The other day I was surfing through the Internet and came across a blog which had put up a question-what does being spiritual mean?

I started writing my answer and immediately got caught up in different viewpoints myself. I took a sneak peak into some of the answers, and found that they varied from mundane to real eye-openers!

I think that we can compare the term to water. Just as it takes its shape according to the container, so does the term spiritual.....it takes its meaning according to the soul. Not only that, it changes its meaning as we move from one level of concienceness to another.


In Krishna concienceness, its the Bhaktiyog. The Shiva concienceness speaks of Adwaita - that is, coming to a single source from Duality. Whereas Christ concienceness is Healing. And attaining Buddhahood, is attaining Enlightenment. In a way, it is like asking the obvious - is there LIFE? GRAVITY? GOD?!!!

According to me, where the physical world ends, the world of spirits starts - hence the word, SPIRITUAL. It is the state of mind where logic dies before a state of infinite vastness. Very much similar to closing doors of a dark room and stepping out into a vast garden filled with sunlight!!

A state of infinite bliss, but contained within, what the Hindus call - a state of being STHITAPRAGYA.



Blessed Be and NAMASTE to ALL!!!!!!!!!