Tag Archives: Yoga

knowledge, Self-improvement, Self-love, self-support, success, Yoga

Yoga and the way to the Universe

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All the orthodox systems of Indian Philosophy have one goal in view, the liberation of the soul through perfection. The method is by Yoga.

– Swami Vivekananda.

A modern way to express the action of the mind is to say that thinking is the recycling of the data that you have already gathered. It is a fascinating and absorbing approach and generates a desire to go deeper in the investigation of its truth.

When we read and contemplate the aphorisms of Patanjali and determined to understand their meaning, we find many different interpretations. These create a challenge and make the significance of the nature of yoga a bit harder to comprehend.

Most likely, the most common aphorism used in the teaching community is the definition of yoga as “Yogas chitta vritti nirodha” . You must have heard it many times, and its many standard definitions of non-thinking, and most likely you must have wondered, how could this be possible?  – Author Barbara Stoller Miller refers to this Sutra as the “cessation of the turnings of thought.” Let’s elaborate further.

Pranayama and the Mind Connection

Anga is the Sanskrit term used for limb, and Pranayama is described as the fourth rung in the science of yoga. It is an important joint in the yogic system and perhaps the most transcendental in the path of many practitioners. Although Sri Patanjali Maharishi mentioned it only three times in his yoga aphorisms; he refers this practice as the one who can finally uncover the polluted layers of chitta [though-wave]. This practice has the potential to purify thoughts and make them fit for the first meditative state called Dharana, which is the practice of deep focusing; prior entering the mental expansiveness state of Dhyana which is a yogic meditation.

You can refer to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali for more information, look for the Sutras 3.1 deshah bandhah chittasya dharana and 3.2 tatra pratyaya ekatanata dhyanam.

Patanjali Maharishi understands that the one who is reading his aphorisms is a practitioner who has already obtained a higher level of awareness. The whole process has the potential to help you realize the possibility to know the entire universe, and it is trough the practice of Pranayama that the practitioner could reach this goal.

In others words, yogis only need to know themselves. It is accessible to them because they are it, and the Pranayama anga could facilitate this realization.

Self-realization is the gift of your yoga practice. Always pay attention to the nature of your existence. Learn to discriminate the impulse of your thoughts, the reason of your beliefs, the nature of your habits or ideas of perception, conception, and intellect. Yogis say it is the closest and fastest way to realize the vast universe within yourself.

Perhaps if you experience a profound and lasting inner peace without any interruption due to distraction and the pulling of your tendencies (samskaras), you could be able to say that somehow you have experienced Self-realization.

Lastly, as my teacher said, a yogi does not believe anything. The only way a yogi believes is when whatever it is, has been experienced within.

knowledge, Self-improvement, Self-love, self-support, success

Freedom to know what you want – The Power of Incremental Change

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“Those who depart from this world without knowing who they are or what they truly desire have no freedom here or hereafter. But those who leave here knowing who they are and what they truly desire have freedom everywhere, both in this world and in the next.
The Chandogya Upanishad VIII.1.6”

The massive weight of all the circumstances and experiences running wild in our days can make our goals cloudy, cumbersome, confusing and even unattainable. At the same time, the power of liberty that carries our inner desires cannot only be forgotten but also destroyed in the mix.

Our goals and ambitions suffer because they are so entangled in premature failure due to erroneous beliefs. These will not be affected if we are determined to tap into our inner power to receive freedom to choose what we want.

Have you ever stop and wondered what do you want? And if so, have you ever figured out the ways to achieve your goals? If yes, God bless!

If the answer is no, then you need to establish your values and begin to resolve your inner conflicts.

Our inner conflicts are obstacles for fulfillment. One must have the ability to focus on them mindfully and be able to correct them or adjust them, so we can make the path to our goals smoother and ideally free of emotional baggage.

There is a practical way to overcome any obstacle in your path to freedom. It is called Incremental Change.

Freedom to know what you want is the result of personal assessments based on experiences, emotions, and states of mind. It is perhaps the most accurate way to stay focused on your life goals without any distractor.

This freedom can successfully be achieved with well-defined patience and with a systematic process of little bits of progress, including small incremental changes.

Entrepreneur Jim Rohn used to say: “Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.”

Increment your changes so slowly that you won’t even notice them.

Whatever the change is that you want to do, remember that this process is not only the exchange of one thing for the another but also the creation of new positive habits in the process.

A Quick Example: Assuming you feel that you want and need to eat better. The first thing to do is to make sure you analyze your current status of your diet. The knowing of your situation will naturally guide you to make the necessary changes to attain your goals.

Small changes in your diet will make you get to your final goal of eating better. Although incremental changes can feel like is way too slow, they are incredibly powerful, and with time they will make you reach your goal in a safe and consistent matter.

As you continue with your incremental changes and as you begin to see those goals getting closer, you will feel as if you can do almost anything.

During these moments of progress, you will be able to clarify your commitments, and at the same time, you will be able to obtain the freedom to know what you want for your life.

What are your most basic inner conflicts and how would you solve them?

knowledge, Productivity, Self-improvement, Self-love, self-support, success

How to become a better leader through the practice of yoga – 4 Simple things you can practice

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This is a solo video transcript I recently posted on Vimeo and YouTube

The first step in the “renewing of the mind” is desire.

–

Becoming a leader is a combination of skills, and one of them is confidence.

Confidence comes with self-awareness; it is a skill that develops with time, patience and most importantly with practice.

Transformational Yoga is the perfect way to develop the necessary skills to step TO the plate and lead with confidence and determination.

The concept of self-awareness or knowing oneself is central to both yoga and leadership education.

As a leader, you need to establish a deeper relationship with your true Self and yoga has the methodology and tools to help you accomplish that.

The yoga of knowledge is perhaps the most important aspect of this practice. It is a skill in action and fundamental to self-development for it can take you directly to self-realization.

As a leader, you need to understand that THE number ONE step to take, is to believe in yourself.

To believe IN your power to create, guide, share and lead.

There is nothing more transformational than becoming your best ally and your best leader.

Let’s talk about 4 Simple Things you can practice

Awareness – The power of awareness comes in the realization of your environment, YOUR LIFE circumstance, and ultimately your reality. In other words, it is the knowing that something such as a condition, situation or problem, exists.

All transformation begins with an intense, burning desire to be transformed.

The first step in the “renewing of the mind” is desire.

You must want to be different before you can begin to change yourself.

Then you must make your future dream a present fact, and for that my friend, you need a lot of awareness.

It is because of this perception that you will be able to go IN and experience yourself entirely.

Once you become aware, THAT”S IT ! excuses are no longer feasible.

When you deny the facts about yourself, you start to live and breathe self-defeat. You don’t want that, do you?

Begin by practicing Self-analysis. It is a stepping stone to becoming aware of your power, strengths and also weaknesses. Self-analysis help you recognize your bad habits, and at the same time all the incredible opportunities that present to yourself.

Practice self-awareness every day, and with time you will be aware of everything.

Meditation – The topic of meditation IS big and sometimes complicated to understand. I want to make this very brief and focus on the facts.

Number one, meditation cannot be taught as if you are learning how to ride a bike or drive a car.

Meditation is just a different state of awareness, a state where you, the meditator can become one with your inner peace, dropping or disconnecting with the never ending process of thinking.

As a leader, practicing meditation can prepare you for your day. It can set the parameters to have a productive life based on focusing what is right and in support of your well-being so you can be available for others.

I recommend practicing meditation every morning as soon as you wake up. Preferably, between the hours of 4 am, and 6 am.

As soon you wake up, and avoiding distractions, sit quietly and become a vessel of solitude, and peace.

There are many techniques that you can research about, however; I recommend a very simple way which I call the way of the breath.

Allow yourself to ride the waves of the breath; in and out. They will teach you patience, confidence, and determination.

Be a meditator and don’t practice it, just be it. By being IT, you will bring the space needed in your mind to experience the knowing of what meditation is and what meditation does.

A leader must have clarity of mind, and through meditation, you will receive it.

Breathing – In the science of yoga, the breath is brought to add value to the emotional, mental and spiritual evolution.

The breath as the dichotomy of life and death can be extremely powerful in your practice of awareness.

It can help you be centered and grounded when it comes to making important decisions, both at the personal and professional levels.

The breath is called Pranazvasa in the language of the yogis. It is fundamental to the connection of mind and body. It can either make you powerful or weak.

Every morning, preferably after your meditation routine. Practice breathing consciously for about 3 to 5 minutes.

During the day, inhale deeply and gently when you feel that you are becoming off center.

The process of exhalation is also important as it will help you relax your nervous system, allowing your mind to rest and your brain to relax and rejuvenate.

Currently, I am in the process of creating an Academy of breath, where I will be sharing with you different breathing techniques based on the science of Pranayama.

We will be discussing the importance of holding the breath, longer exhalations and their significance in the movement of body and mind.

Talking about Movement – The movement of the body is also crucial for your state of health. As a leader, you need to be the example of discipline. Develop a habit of moving your body for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes.

Asana or poses in yoga were designed to create stamina, flexibility, detoxification and extreme endurance.

Practice light stretches in the morning if necessary, but if you want you can also develop your routine, and practice some asanas such as shoulder stands, forward bends and back bends ALL while consciously breathing. If you want, you can explore some inversions as well.

Having a lean and flexible body can add tremendous value to your life, and elevate your SELF-ESTEEM making you a more attractive example of commitment and discipline.

These are simple steps that you can add to your daily habits of self-support. Give yourself permission and start today.

Yoga CAN and WILL increase the value to your life, BUT you must become a disciplined person.

Being a leader established in yoga will empower others to take action.

Remember, the best compensation to do things is the ability to do more.

Thank you and don’t forget: Align Your Life with What Your Really Value

Until next time

Peace !

Productivity, Self-improvement, Self-love

Add Value – Simplicty is the Key

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In business, the creation of value is the primary aim. By creating value for customers; managers can help sell products and services, all while creating value for shareholders. This approach is pretty logical and clear.

In life, however; we sometimes don’t know how to contribute and add value to our lives for the simple fact that is a little complicated and confusing to determine what we want for ourselves. (sometimes)

I once noticed how a young child was coloring a drawing on a scrap paper and right after she finished it, she gave it to her father.

The father, looked at it and smiled back at the young girl and picked her up in his arms and kissed her.

The expression of the girl’s eyes was priceless. She added value to her father’s life by doing something so simple as drawing on a piece of scrap paper.

It is all about Inertia

In life, everything is determined by universal laws and one of them is the law of inertia.

The First Newton Law states that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

This is the law of inertia, and it means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they’re doing.

All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object on the move will maintain this state of motion

Most of the time we remain static and desiring to have the strength to overcome our bad habits. These are the natural tendencies to keep doing what we are doing unless an opposite force pushes us to begin moving.

These forces are usually in the form of pain. When the emotional pain is greater than the negative habit, then we tend to move.

To continue moving, we don’t need any other forces; we are in the movement already.

According to the law of inertia, we will continue in motion until another force typically of opposite direction comes to stop us. However, if you want to continue with your personal progress, don’t allow any opposing forces to counteract your momentum – just keep moving. (doing)

Simplicity is the Key

Simple things are the secret. If you want to lose weight, walk a little more and eat a little less. If you want to excel in your job, do a bit more and stay 15 minutes later in your office.

If you want to accomplish any personal goal, understand that progress will never come by force, it has to be an organic process.

Personal growth comes from creating simple things, so simple that your current habits will not feel affected. You have to become a strategist and plan your progress intelligently.

Become a smarter individual, and secretly sabotage your bad behaviors and habits by introducing new and very simple new ones.

You will be adding value to your existence, and therefore you will contribute by inspiring others.

Be better not by chance but by change.

Productivity, Self-improvement

Why I Decided to Study the Science of Yoga

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There are many ways to approach life, some of us take life as it comes, some take life way too serious and get obsessed with the intricacies of their daily routines.

Also; at the same time, we are all exposed to disciplines designed to create better results in many different levels in life.

Some of them are very ancient; some are very modern and exciting; others, like yoga; are very profound, sometimes even confusing and therefore misunderstood.

What is this yoga thing?

According to Sports Marketing Survey, established in 1984 by Ian Peacock; the latest statistics shows that the number of US yoga practitioners has increased to more than 36 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012.

The cost of yoga classes, clothing, equipment, and accessories is up to $16 billion, up from $10 billion over the past four years.

The statistics show that in the US yoga is a great business rather than a science of self-knowledge, discovery of human potential and mental evolution.

This number is alarming and will continue to grow, and perhaps it will take some years for the real message of yoga to raise.

Meanwhile, I choose to keep learning through experiential methods while studying the yogic information provided from reliable sources.

Yoga is life; it is your life, my life, and the life of every single sentient being. It is holy.

I decided to study this science because it helps me focus on the actual meaning of my spiritual world and that is enough for me to stay aware of my evolution as a human being, as a practitioner, as a student, and as a professional.

It helps me stay concentrated in what is important, which is the act of giving, creating and supporting. It keeps me searching inside me and not inside many yoga studios. I decided to dive in deep into the world of yogic scriptures to explore something different, more profound than 60-minute classes, which I have both attended and hosted in many occassions.

If you practice consciously, systematically and in a scientific way, one can obtain beautiful results in a short period.

Although it is always a good alternative to fix the body as a unit of energy, the combination of yoga with medicine will not provide the individual with the primary goal of yoga.

Medicine in conjunction with yoga will not make you realize your potential, it will make you feel physically good only, I am afraid this holistic practice will end up being corrupted by the western medical approach.

The real meaning of this practice resides in the full aspect of going beyond comfort and applications that only confuse the population.

Yoga is the science of consciousness, and it is the study of truth. It is the constant coming back to one self because there is nothing out there for us other than confusion.

There is a path known as the Eight Limbs of Yoga; it is beautiful but not practiced thoroughly and much less in the west.

Next time you take a yoga class, make sure you understand that what you are experiencing is only  is just a tiny part of its complex world.

Meanwhile, I rather focus on yoga studies than yoga studios.

knowledge, Self-improvement, Self-love, self-support, success

What matters most in your life? Two Simple Ways to Support Yourself

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The knowledge and understanding of ourselves is fundamental for the comprehension of this original question.

There are times when we meet the day in a very optimistic way, thinking that we have finally discovered our purpose, however; by the time lunch rolls around, we have already lost our fire. We have lost our bright light, including our fresh new motivation, and we have become dull and cumbersome.

The conduction of negativity is more easily transmitted through an overwhelmed nervous system. If this is happening to you, most likely what you are missing is a defined system of support. A system that not only agrees with your inner passion but also challenges you to prove to yourself that what you want has become vital for your existence.

A system of support can consist of two simple things.

Daily Reminders – This is the process of documenting your goals, recording your ideas and emotions while you see yourself achieving your dreams.

You can easily write them in a notepad or a little notebook that you can carry with you, or if you are inclined to technology, you can use an app called Everbrite, one of my favorites when it comes to documenting anything.

Documenting and Planning are the most basic systems of support, and you can go back to them during those times when you seem to be losing your spark, your enthusiasm, and ambitions; not allowing the negative and pessimistic side of your mind to take control of your day. Reading your goals and rehearsing your plan is therapeutic and can benefit your state of mind.

Self Reward – One of the most basic human needs is the need for self-regard, in other words caring for oneself.

Our minds tend to gravitate toward negativity. Remember Yoda? He said, “when you look at the dark side, careful you must be. For the dark side looks back.”

Self-reward is a very practical step to keep yourself away from the “dark.”

A simple thing to do is to reward yourself with the gift of patience. Allow yourself to recognize and silence the self-critic and actively engage in creative expression.

Use the power your mind possesses to visit the dark places and instead decide to visit positive locations; geographical areas in your mind where you can see yourself clearer, living, doing, having and sharing your dreams and success with others.

Although the investment of this simple act of self-reward costs nothing, the return is priceless.

What is stopping you? Or who is stopping you? NOTHING external really; just your limiting beliefs, your inner conflicts, and fear. The good news is that those can be changed and be dissipated gradually, but only if you are the one who wants to take all measurement to survive and be free.

How can I move forward?

Time is what everyone recommends, and it is the most practical remedy used to recover. However, one must possess the extraordinary willpower needed to act and embrace the moment while still deciding to honor their emotions and feelings by giving them the necessary space to dissipate.

Next time you begin your day feeling energized and focused on working on your primary goals remember to stay alert and practice simple and quick ways that will help support yourself and keep you afloat even when you are flying low.

What techniques do you use to help yourself?

knowledge, Self-improvement, Self-love, success

Learn to Live in your Power – Love Yourself [VIDEO]

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Loving yourself is the basis of life and the basis of a balanced personality. Think about how you develop yourself in the presence of others and analyze the interaction of all your relationships.

It is important to be ok with yourself right now, however, do not take this is a way of accepting your present state and not doing anything to be better. You must always try to become nothing but the very best version of yourself for you and for others.

Learn to live in your power. You possess the extraordinary influence to become a real individual person. Be unique, authentic and add value to your life because you are in it.