Yoga teachers should have good working knowledge of Yoga posture alignment and know how to assist a Yoga student who is holding an asana. When you are about to give an assist - ask for permission first; as this might be considered an invasion of privacy by some of your Yoga students. Yoga teachers should not take for granted that all students want a physical assist and should respect their space.

Yogic philosophy: Yamas and Niyamas are the ethical principles of Yoga. Most of us read Patanjali’s guidelines from the Yoga Sutras. If you want to become a Yoga teacher, you should get your own copy of the Yoga Sutras. The Yamas contain the following five self restraints.

Ahimsa: A Yoga teacher should be a living example of how to avoid violence, harming, and especially killing. This principle can be carried further, as you should avoid purposely injuring yourself in any way. To avoid harming animals could also be included within this principle of Yoga. It is one more reason to consider vegetarianism or, at least, to cut back on meat consumption.

Satya: To be true and honest in every way. This is a very simplistic principle and includes avoiding deception of any kind, shape, or form. However, the truth can sometimes hurt people deeply, so you must use your best judgment when you want to avoid harming someone, but do not lie.

Asteya: This is to avoid stealing in any way. This is a simple principle, but throughout history, laws were sometimes modified to justify stealing. The problem is the desire of something - to the point of jealousy, and finally - outright theft. The elimination of the Cathars, Africans, and Native Americans are just three examples of people who suffered from modified laws that took away their land.

Brahmacharya: To be free from sensual imprisonment and to live in moderation. At first we might think of lust, and correct this by seeing another person as more than a sexual object. However, most obesity can be found within industrialized nations, where the lust that may kill most people, is over consumption of food.

Therefore, we should strive to be moderate in eating, drinking, sex, Internet use, consumerism, computer games, television, and our behavior. With that said, the use of any illegal drugs is very far from moderate or responsible behavior.

Aparigraha: To be free from greed, wanting, hoarding, and to avoid being selfish. This is one more good reason to give to charity, and help those in need.

Yoga teachers should not only know these principles, but should live by them.

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: “Yoga in Practice,” and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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Like most men, I was skeptical of even the though of trying out yoga, thinking it was something that would be most likely painful, and a little out of the testoserone element. Also like most men, I experience back pain from time to time, in my case thanks to protruding L4 and and L5 discs stemming from a car accident years ago. As time goes on, and your family pulls you home, getting to the gym can be hard. Home equipment isn’t necessarily practical or cost effective, so what can a man do?

Former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page is the man behind the concept. Wrestling fans may remember the performer as a former champion in the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling, and who later wrestled in World Wrestling Entertainment, in addition to writing his biography and branching out into acting. He is a man who started wrestling later in life at age 35, so Page was always looking for help to keep himself in the best physical condition compared to his younger colleagues. A couple of years ago, his wife suggested yoga to help him deal with the harsh pain of Page’s profession.

Now that Page is retired, he has devoted his full time to developing this concept, starting with the book, which is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. The book is easy to follow, with 20, 30 and 40 minute routines. The text will tell you how to breathe (and it is important) and the pictures are numbered for the correct sequence. Page has put in people with all kinds of bodies, young and old, but also some eye candy for the men. Yoga For Regular Guys has a forward from Rob Zombie, and some chapters devoted to nutrition and holistic health with massage therapy an chiropractic care. After running through the 20 minute program, I can say I was sweating like a stuck pig at a luau, which was surprising. Normally for that kind of sweat I would have to hit an elliptical machine or treadmill for an hour.

After viewing Page’s website, Diamond Dallas Page.com, my main critical point is that I think he could expand on the case studies that are listed on his site. People who have tried the program have listed why they have turned to yoga, and have listed their success with how many pounds they have lost, inches lost, and other body measurements like blood pressure and body fat, complete with photographs on the website, but not so much in the book. I like to read these stories, and hope that I can count myself among success stories 3 months down the road. The nutritional information is helpful, but I have a hard time seeing most people down carrot juice on a regular basis. Perhaps some nutritional information for people who do not want to hit the extreme end of the nutrition bandwagon?

Overall, this book is excellent, and a good way for people to exercise if they are limited by traditional weight training and aerobics. You feel refreshed and that you have accomplished something at the end of a 20 minute session. Check it out today.

GL Hamilton has a BA in Recreation Management from Eastern Washington University. He publishes the blog Find A Sport http://www.findasport.blogspot.com/ to help people find a recreational activity that they can enjoy for health and fitness. Movement is an overlooked key to a healthy life.

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A human life is a priceless gift of God. The Lord does not have a greater gift than this to give his beloved creatures. Its specialties and potentials are so extraordinary that its results can only amaze us. This gift has been given to us to fulfill divine goals. But it is our ill-fate that we have forgotten our divine nature, God’s gift and the goal/ importance of a human life. Neither do we know our divine potential, nor the Lord’s goal, wisdom or meditation.

We are straying far away in this dark, gloomy world. This forgetfulness is strange. People generally forget objects and also what they have read, heard etc. A person whom we had known in the past is now a stranger for us, since we have forgotten him. But it is rare to find a person who forgets himself. We think ourselves to be a body with name and form. We desire what our mind desires, we look upon the body’s needs as our own need. The body and mind are the 2 wheels of the chariot of our life. But we have totally forgotten that we are the soul and not the body. No doubt we hear time and again that the body is different from the soul. But it is very rare that someone actually experiences this fact. And even if we experience it, it is in a very hazy manner.

If we understand true reality and the difference between the life-force and peripherals that manifests in our consciousness, we will give prime importance to soul well-being. We would give only that much importance to material objects as is required. Today we are walking with feet devoid of shoes and decorate our cars with frills of gold. We are dying of hunger and give clarified butter to vehicles. “We” means the soul and vehicle means body or mind. The Lord is serving his servants. It is indeed strange that he has forgotten his responsibility.

ATTAINING THE SOUL’S GOAL

The goal of life is to attain self-fulfillment. This self-fulfilled state can only be at the level of divinity. In order to attain God, the mind should get concentrated on him. Before constructing important buildings, their maps, plans and models are designed. An engineer, architect etc. will build buildings based on these models. An image of God with his qualities, activities and nature is carried out for the purpose of meditation. As a result one experiences nearness, oneness and a sense of merging of God. This is the true nature of meditation.

The goal of true meditation is to regain our lost memory regarding our real nature. If someone happens to regain it, it is definitely akin to a man coming out of a very scary dream. It is only then that one experiences a condition akin to a child being lost in a massive crowd or like that of a man who has lost the memory of his identity. Those undergoing such anguish, experience a great loss and they hurt their near and dear ones. Since we have lost our memory (that we are the mighty soul and not the body), our condition is as demeaning as a baby lion being brought up in a family of goats. As a result we are giving pain to our true nature, which is divinity.

The goal of Yoga of meditation is to overcome loss of memory i.e. to awaken to the fact that we are the soul and not the body. In that one remembers God and one experiences one’s soul nature. The memory of the union of a living being (Jiva) and God (Brahman) is re-activated and one experiences, that this very Divine Power contact was broken by us, is in reality our Divine Mother and Benefactor. Not only this but like the proverbial wish-fulfilling cow (Kamadhenu), it is so powerful that by drinking its nectarine milk, we attain divinity. By sitting in the shade of a wish-fulfilling tree (Kalpavriksha) one can attain anything. After contacting, coming close to that Divine Centre, one does not lack anything and thus we can overcome all types of poverty. Thus Yoga of Meditation helps us attain this goal.

CONCENTRATION

It is not something great to attain Divine Powers. It should be protected from any type of wastage and should never be misused. The benefits of attaining Divine Powers are encountered when they are gathered in a safe place and that they are utilized only for sacred tasks.

As a result of heat, a lot of water of the oceans gets converted to steam. So much steams rises into the atmosphere from cooking gas, fire etc. All this goes in waste. But in an engine, a little bit of water is converted to steam. This steam is not allowed to stray in the atmosphere and is in fact collected in a tank. Later its energy flow passes out of a small hole and reaches the piston. As a result of this small process, the engine of a train starts functioning. Not only does it move but it runs at a great speed. Its movement is so powerful that it tugs alongwith it many other compartments at a high speed.

If tons of gun powder are spread out on the ground and lit with a match-stick, it will show a little light for a flash of a moment and then get burnt to ashes. This is a total wastage and is of no use to us. But if it is enclosed in a small area of a gun and by pressing the trigger a little, sparks of fire touch the gunpowder, this infinitesimal gunpowder gives amazing results. The bullet runs at a mammoth speed to its target. Wherever it lands, it topples that object. One can thus clearly note the difference between just lighting up tons of gunpowder with a matchstick and on the other hand, lighting up a minute amount of gun powder in a gun.

The rays of sun light are scattered all over the earth. Daily the sun rises and then sets in the evening. This sunlight can give only a little heat and light to us. But if a few sunrays are concentrated on paper using a special lens, the paper starts burning. If it is thrown in a huge jungle, a forest fire ensues which destroys that entire area to ashes.

During Draupadi’s Swayamvar (choosing you own groom), the condition for getting married to her was that the prospective bridegroom should pierce the eye of a bird placed at a distance with an arrow. Dronacharya was helping his students to master this art. Before his students aimed an arrow, Dronacharya would ask them as to what they were seeing. On an average the students would say that are seeing a bird on the tree. As a result Dronacharya would declare that such students would never succeed. When it was Arjun’s turn, he answered that I can only see the bird’s eye and nothing else. Thus Dronacharya declared that Arjun would definitely succeed. Truly at the Swayamvara ceremony of Draupadi, Arjun pierced the eye of the bird with one single arrow and thus got married to Draupadi.

It is said that a flying creature called a buzzing bee catches hold of a caterpillar and continues to buzz in front of it. As a result of continuously hearing the buzz of the bee and visualizing the bee’s form, the mental state of the caterpillar becomes that of a bee. The caterpillar starts thinking itself to be a buzzing bee. As a result the body of the caterpillar takes the shape of a buzzing bee instead of a grown up butterfly. Zoologists may doubt this but it is a definite fact that whenever man concentrates/ focuses his mind on a particular name and form, his mind too takes up the name, form and characteristics of that object. As a result of focusing her mind on beauty and youth, a prostitute regains her beauty to a great extent at an advanced age too. On the other hand, many young men and women look aged because their minds are all the time thinking of hardships and dire circumstances. All this is a result of focusing one’s mind on a particular good/ bad thought. This could be intentional or unintentional.

Spiritual concentration means to stop the mind from straying away from its center and that after focusing one’s Divine Powers at one central focal point, one should utilize the same for sacred endeavors only. This is called control of mind or focusing of the psyche in spiritual texts. A lot of discussion takes place regarding Yoga of Meditation. It should be surmised as an art of concentrating one’s mind. When we hear about it, its success seems mediocre but in reality, it is a great achievement. When one masters this art, man by focusing his scattered conscious energy in one place, utilizes it for some sacred purpose and thus attains amazing success.

Water is filled in dams. But when it is ejected from a small opening, a stream of it flows at break neck speed because of water pressure generated by the dam. This flow has extraordinary energy. Its influence aids the movement of wheels of many machines and as a result these machines start moving. The construction of huge electric powerhouses takes place near gigantic dams. It is very expensive to generate electricity using engines and machines but hydroelectricity is cheaply operated near dams. Near smaller waterfalls, you have water mills. The resultant energy is not due to the stream of water but it is due to its concentration. By focusing a widespread area in a smaller area, you generate power.

The aim of Yoga of Meditation is to concentrate mental thought scattering in one small area of thought. The more an individual succeeds in concentrating his mind, the more his psyche will radiate with power. Like an arrow of word, it is easy for him to attain his goal. If spirituality is his aim, he will advance spiritually and his psyche will radiate with Ridhi-Sidhi or what are called Divine Powers. If the aim is material progress, we will attain this goal too. In whichever appropriate direction this energy is used, it will reap good dividends.

Concentration/ focusing means overcoming the wasteful scattering of the thought waves of our mind. By obstructing the water flow of a small stream, a dam is created and thus a small pond, lake is created. Then artificial streams are created from this lake which give water to far off arid regions. If this stream were not converted into a dam, it would have lashed at the shores and caused wasteful flooding in surrounding regions. This would lead to material destruction in that region. One should not look upon the thought flow in our mind as less important when compared to a hydroelectricity generator. The power of an electricity powerhouse is limited and can transmit electricity to a very limited region in its vicinity. But this cannot be said about the mind. Its potential of today can be augmented infinite fold in the future. Its area of influence which is today limited to the family and friends will in future encompass the entire world.

Generally people of great authority like scientists, philosophers, artists, scholars, sculptors, authors, managers, leaders etc are like ordinary laymen. Their body is very ordinary and their minds lack a magical wand. Whatever difference one perceives in them alongwith the miracle of their greatness, is a result of their inner special qualities which in turn are related to the focusing capacity of their mind and their steadfastness in reaching the desired goal. Everybody possesses infinite amount of intellectual energy. To the extent that weak brained individuals too have a lot of radiance. The difference only is this that some have activated this radiance and the rest have not done so. Even a very wise person is like a dead corpse when he is in deep sleep. But on waking up, he manifests his intellectual brilliance. This holds true for the brain too. Due to certain circumstances, the intellectual powers of some people remains latent and thus look weak intellectually. But if their intellect is activated with effort, not only will they be as brilliant as other wise people but sometimes they will march ahead of them too.

Everyone knows that many threads unite together to form a strong rope and many broomsticks join together to form a broom. Many drops of water constitute a jugful of water. This example is given to accept the fact that by obstructing the wayward scattering of the intellect, one can focus/ concentrate one’s thought waves at a focal point. One can easily understand that wayward scattering of thoughts in various directions diminishes our mental prowess and that if these thoughts are concentrated at one single point, it will give us miraculous mental strength.

By advancing mental concentration, great scientists, Yogis, philosophers etc. enter the deep ocean called the mind and thus collect priceless jewels. Those who just float on the surface of the sea, attain nothing but those who dive deep into it, attain priceless materials. Superficial thinking is like a wayward blade of grass moving aimlessly here and there. On the other hand focusing one’s thought waves at a single point in the psyche via meditation gives miraculous results.

AUTHOR: Shriram Sharma Acharya, founder of the International Gayatri Family, was a great Yogi, seer and incarnation of God who wrote volumes of scientific literature mainly on spiritual subjects for world welfare and peace.

For more scientific e-books visit: http://www.shriramsharma.com/

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Ours is a strictly non-commercial website which aims at realizing the age old dream of great leaders and thinkers of the world viz. “A beautiful borderless world.”

KEYWORDS: Kundalini Yoga Gayatri e-books biography Guru world peace mind psyche god nerve subtle consciousness soul divine trance endocrine glands ESP Chakras plexus meditation concentration intellect prophecy thought thinking Cheiro Nostradamus Aurobindo bliss brain Vedas solar sun energy sacred pure sense organs Prana Avatar Upanishad light cell hypothalamus

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