YOGA FOR INCREASING LUNG CAPACITY

You dont need to think that yoga can only be done by some. All of us can find some basic exercises that can be done for certain specific requirements. A core component of yoga is its focus on controlled breathing, or pranayama.  Although researchers are not sure why or how yoga improves lung function, several studies have shown that it does, indeed, have a positive affect on respiration. Many allergies and asthmatic disorders can be treated with certain yogic exercises. “Chair breathing”: a yogic relaxation breathing technique helps in reducing asthmatic symptoms.

Chair Breathing Exercise

The yogic chair breathing exercise is simple to perform, but has proven to be effective at controlling asthma and other breathing-related malfunctions.  A 1993 study done at the University College of Medical Sciences in New Delhi found that chair breathing improved lung capacity by 10%.

In this exercise, the patient sits on a mat on the floor facing a folding chair. The patient extends his or her legs beneath the legs of the chair and rests his or her arms on the seat of the chair.  The following steps are then performed in sequence:

1.      Slowly tense all of the muscles of the body
2.      Progressively relax each of those muscles
3.      Repeat step 1 and 2 five times in sequence while slowly leaning   the head backward and then forward toward the seat of the chair
4.      Inhale slowly and deeply while leaning the head backward
5.      Exhale slowly while leaning the head forward and down toward the seat of the chair
6.      Repeat steps 4 and 5 five times in sequence
7.      Repeat steps 4 and 5 five more times in sequence while slowly chanting “Ah” on the exhale

8.      Repeat steps 4 and 5 five more times in sequence while slowly chanting “MM” on the exhale 

Pranayamas

The chair breathing exercise is not the only pranayama that is thought to improve lung function.  Indeed, the whole practice of yoga is, in a sense, a pranayama because of its continual focus on the breath.

Pranayamas range from simple deep breathing exercising (a series of deep inhalations and deep exhalations) to alternate nostril breathing (a series of inhalations and exhalations that utilize only one nostril at a time.)

But they all play an important respiratory function.

One of the ways in which yoga is believed to improve lung function is through exercises that expand the chest wall, thus providing more room for the lungs to expand.

Yoga Exercises that Improve Chest Wall Function

Some of the yoga postures (called asanas) that are believe to improve chest wall function are:

-          The tree (Vrksasana)
-          The camel (Ushtrasana)
-          The cat ( Bidalasana)

Other asanas that are believed to improve chest wall function are:

-          The cobra (Bhujangasana)
-          The swan (Hansasana)
-          The bow (Dhanurasana) 

The IDA NADI and its Balancing

The human nervous system is divided into a central and an autonomic nervous system. The autonomic is divided into parasympathetic (PNS*) and sympathetic nervous systems (SNS). The parasympathetic nervous system is divided by a gap between the vagus nerve and the kundalini. This division is symbolised in the instrument as the void (IV). The left and right sympathetic nervous systems (SNS) we use for our day to day physical, mental and emotional activity. Within the subtle instrument, Ida Nadi (Left Channel) manifests the left SNS* and Pingala Nadi (Right Channel) the right SNS. By-products of Ida Nadi activity create the balloon of superego in the head, beginning on the left at throat level and mostly covering the back and right side of the head. Pingala Nadi activity creates another balloon, of ego on the other side, covering the front and left side of the head.

The central channel of Sushumna Nadi manifests the PNS*. This system is self-governing. The Self or Spirit witnesses the action of the PNS which controls our involuntary activities such as heartbeat, breathing and reflex, that is, unconscious as opposed to conscious activity. Although we can to a degree control our sympathetic action, for instance we can make our hearts beat faster, we cannot consciously slow the heart down, which is parasympathetic action.

The Self existing at this level means that we cannot achieve Self-realisation through our own effort, only through God’s desire. Spirit is spontaneous; as natural and vital to us as our heartbeat. How long would we last if it were only our will that kept our hearts beating, or if we were to learn breathing from a book ? The spirit is infinite, while our rationality is finite, hence our efforts are also finite. Only Kundalini can bridge that great divide between illusion and reality. She is the trigger of divine bliss, that unites the attention to the Spirit, and carries you on into joy. The energy of Ida crosses with that of Pingala like a double helix. When clear and balanced, both of these nadis carry prana to Shushumna nadi, the central nadi that runs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. At the base of Shushumna lies our Kundalini wrapped around Shakti holding her in place. When prana enters our systems, it unwinds our Kundalini allowing Shakti to travel to Shiva. When Shiva and Shakti unite we can experience oneness, the state of Samadhi, or what Tantrikas call the experience of nothingness (all things at once).

The IDA Nadi (Moon Line, Left Channel)

Qualities: tamo guna, past, subconscious
Gross expression: left sympathetic nervous system
Place on hand: whole left hand
Manifestations: auspiciousness, emotion, existence, joy, desire.
Causes of catch: lethargy, habits, conditioning, superstition, blind faith, guilt, fear, self pity, day-dreaming, drugs, bad childhood, gross attachments to children, sexual perversion, black magic.

The left channel (“Ida Nadi” in Sanskrit) is also called the Moon Channel. It begins at the Mooladhara (1st chakra) and runs up the left side, crossing over at the Agnya Chakra (6th center) into the temple and superego on the right side of the brain. It provides the conduit for the energy of our desire.

From these desires or wishes, our emotions are triggered. Emotions are actually desires that have not yet materialized. These desires and the attendant feelings about them travel through this left channel to the appropriate places in the body to bring about the actions of fulfillment. Our desires are essential for action. Without their impetus we would have nothing to act upon.

The greatest quality of the left side is to provide joy which is the steady condition of the Spirit. You may remember having this joy as a child, or you may have observed it in small two- or three-year-old children. They usually wake up in the morning happy. While they may experience physical and emotional pain once in a while throughout their day, they do not cling to it with memory. Rather, they cry, recover, and resume the steady state of joy. The desire for this joy is still alive inside us the same as it was when we were infants. It may be blocked or covered with "tarnish" from emotional or physical injuries experienced in living life. Earlier we did not have effective techniques for clearing away the hurts and blows that are normal in living active life. The different practices help us remove those old tensions and recover that joy as a steady state of being.

Problems of the left side tend to result in passivity or emotional extremism whereby we are thrown between elation and depression. With this type of imbalance, self-discipline becomes difficult and bad habits become hard to correct. In the worst case, we become lethargic and self-obsessed. Because this channel feeds also into the skull area, pressure on the brain becomes excessive. This cycle is what causes such problems as mental breakdown, epilepsy, and senility (decay of the brain).

The state of the left channel is felt on the left side of the body. In the beginning it is most easily felt on the left palm.

To correct a weak left side we have to first balance it with the right (rajo guna). This means activity which develops the ego and pushes the over-developed superego back to the central area of the head. So we put more attention outside, on work and action. Discarding all ideas of self-destruction and self-pity, we materialise the emotional side which is attuned to our sustenance (dharma). By using the neglected right side, we bring the left into balance with the rest of the being. Now when Kundalini is raised she does not fall again.

The real and greatest quality of the left side is to give us joy (anand), which is beyond the duality of happiness and sorrow. The Spirit is always in joy. That joy is expressed in its purity when Kundalini enlightens the attention with the Spirit. Actually the joy which is latent in creation starts manifesting through our left side. Then you find joy radiating from any source of divine vibrations.

Your priorities change automatically. Old habits and addictions are over and done with, given up without difficulty. A sense of security is established and all guilt and imaginary fears disappear. ‘Everything created by nature gives a new meaning and one starts enjoying the genuine significance of every ripple of joy they emit.’

Are you curious to know what happens during the time that Ida is dominant? Contrary to Pingala, which brings out the mathematician, the financier, the lawyer in us, when Ida is dominant, the artist, the singer, the novelist, or the chef manifests. Ida is associated with the energy of the moon, which is creative, feminine, restful, calming, cooling, and healing. Lunar qualities bring out the Mother Nature (Shakti) force.

EXERCISE : Anulom Vilom - Alternate Nostril Breathing Instructions

This is a form of Pranayma, or yogic breathing that balances and cleanses the body’s energy system.

Form the Chin Mudra with the left hand by touching the tip of the left index finger to the tip of the left thumb while keeping the remaining three fingers straight. Form the Vishnu Mudra with the right hand by keeping the right index and third fingers straight, bending the right fourth and baby fingers toward the palm, and touching the tip of the right thumb to the bottom corner of the right fourth nail. Inhale, then close the right nostril with the right thumb. Exhale to a count of eight through the left nostril, inhale to a count of four through the left nostril, hold the breath for a count of sixteen, by gently squeezing the fourth and fifth fingers and the thumb against the nostrils, then switch nostrils on the exhale and exhale through the right nostril for a count of eight. This is one half-round. Complete the round by inhaling through the right for a count of four, hold the breath for a count of sixteen, then exhale through the left nostril for a count of eight. Each time you exhale, switch nostrils. Each time you exhale through the left nostril, you have completed one round. Do five rounds to begin, and gradually increase the number of rounds.

The Energy Flow in our body - Nadis

As we all are well aware, we are all made up of energy. We are also aware that Energy can neither be created nor destroyed,  it can just change its form. The famous equation is well known E=mc² . In view of the above, it stands to reason that there must be some organised way that the energy that we are, functions. It is also logical to assume that everything being energy, each one of us must be interconnected! No religion here,  just basic reasoning!

Alright, I am personally aware that these connections exist and I have been playing with them for years now! More fun than any game I have heard of, and, definitely, more rewarding in terms of Life Experience. Are you with me till here? Okay, lets go deeper. In one of my previous posts I had talked about the Human Energy System in which I had written about the Chakras. In fact, that can be taken as a basic overview of our energy system. In another one of my posts I had dealt with the balancing of the 1^st chakra. But, I think it is important to learn about this energy flow in our bodies before I go on to the Chakra Balancing. In this post I would be introducing you to the Energy Flow.

In our body, the energy flows through energy channels which are called “Nadis”. Nadi literally means 'flow or current'. In the ancient texts of Ayurveda  it is written that there are seventy two thousand nadis in the psychic body of man. These are visible like currents of light to a person who has developed psychic vision. In recent times the word nadi has been translated as nerve, but actually nadis are not nerves as we known them, for they are composed of astral matter. Like the Chakras, they are not located in the physical body, though nerves of the physical body can be considered as their corresponding physical manifestations.

Nadis are the subtle channels along which the vital forces of prana flow. Out of the large number of nadis in the psychic body, fourteen are more important, and of these, three are most important. These three are ida, pingala and sushumna.

All the nadis are subordinate to sushumna, even ida and pingala. Sushumna nadi runs within the spinal cord, from mooladhara chakra or the First Chakra  at the bottom to Ajna Chakra or the Sixth Chakra at the top. It is silvery in colour. Emanating from the left side of mooladhara and passing through each chakra in turn in a curving path, finally ending on the left side of ajna chakra, is ida nadi. It is blue in color. Emanating from the right side of mooladhara and passing in an opposite manner to that of ida, up to the right of ajna, is pingala nadi. Pingala is fiery red in colour. Ida and pingala are the pathways of the two polar opposites of life force flowing within us. Ida is negative, and also called the moon (chandra) nadi, while pingala is positive and called the sun (surya) nadi. These force currents in ida, pingala and sushumna operate alternately and the current that is flowing at any particular time can be determined by noting the flow of breath in the nostrils. It the left nostril has a greater flow of air, then ida nadi is predominant. When the flow is greater in the right nostril, then pingala is predominant. If the flow is equal, then sushumna is ruling.

If you watch your breath you will find that it is usually flowing more in one nostril than the other.

·         When the right nostril is flowing, then vital energy is more active, allowing the individual to do physical work, digest food and so on. The mind is extroverted and the body generates more heat.

·         When the left nostril (ida) is flowing, mental energy is dominant, the mind is introverted, any kind of mental work; thinking concentration, etc., may be undertaken. Ida nadi also flows mainly during sleep.

If pingala flows at night, the person is very restless and finds it difficult to sleep. Likewise, if ida flows at the time of taking food, the digestive process may be inefficient, causing indigestion. All our activities are influenced by the flow of these nadis which alternate approximately every hour.

However, it is possible to alter the flow voluntarily by using willpower and certain yogic techniques, such as padadirasana and pranayama. For example, if there is work to be done but one feels sleepy, it is possible to direct the flow of prana to pingala nadi thereby gaining the necessary energy.

When these two nadis are purified and balanced, and the mind controlled, the most important nadi, sushumna, begins to flow. Sushumna must be flowing if there is to be success in meditation. If pingala flows, the body will be restless; if ida flows, the mind will tend to think too much. When sushumna flows, kundalini rises through the chakras.

In human physiology, the two nadis correspond roughly to the two halves of the autonomic nervous system - the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Pingala coincides with the sympathetic nerves, responsible for the stimulation and acceleration of activities concerned with the external environment and the deceleration of the organs which tend to utilize a lot of energy internally. The sympathetic nerves speed up the heart, dilate the blood vessels, increase the respiration rate, and intensify the efficiency of the eyes, ears, etc.

The parasympathetic nerves directly oppose the sympathetic nerves, for they reduce the heartbeat, constrict the blood vessels, and slow the respiration so that the individual becomes introverted. The flow of prana in ida and pingala is completely involuntary and unconscious until yogic practices control it.

Know your true power

There are times when we feel the pull to meditate but are swayed from it by the excuses that spring to mind. We may think that we are too busy, have no time to ourselves, or that we do not have the right place to meditate. Our minds can think of dozens of reasons to put off meditation. But those are even stronger reasons to look past the illusion of the hustle and bustle of daily life and to connect to the place within that intersects with the timeless power and limitless potential of the universe. From that place we can experience that potent stillness that exists at all times, and it is only as far away as our breath.

It might be useful to ask yourself why you would put off something so beneficial to your peace of mind and general well-being. There may be fear that if you were to stop your frantic pace, your world might fall apart, and then you would have to face the undeniable reality of who you really are and the results of the choices you have made. You might be afraid that you will be forced to make huge changes in order to align yourself with the universe and harness your true potential. Sometimes the frustrations of the known world seem less scary than the possibilities of the unknown. But the truth is that when we cooperate with the universe by creating our lives from the truth of our being, life becomes less of a struggle and more of a process of living blissfully on purpose.

Finding yourself alone for a few moments can give you the opportunity to turn within to infuse a sense of calm wisdom to your work. Whenever you can take the time to recenter and refocus, it will remind you how beneficial it is to connect to your source. Then you will make the time for longer sojourns of spirit, because once you are rejuvenated and enlivened by knowing that you are made of energy and light, you can channel the power to create your life in alignment with the highest potential of your soul.

The purpose of LIFE

Do you feel bored with your LIFE?

Does it no longer hold any meaning?

Does it feel aimless?

Does it make you feel purposeless?

What if I told you that your purpose in life is to taste it’s many flavors – and that what you are calling boredom is but your Higher Self’s signal to you that you have learned all you need to learn and that its time to move on?

What if you considered the possibility that a very acceptable way of journeying is to stay on the surface of it, at least for a while, experimenting and playing with whatever seems interesting for only as long as it was interesting and that what is most important is to smile often, to be happy, and to like yourself?

So many of us suffer needlessly because we have been taught that our life is suppose to look a certain way. By a certain age we are suppose to know what we want to be when we grow up and that we are suppose to then spend the rest of our lives happily being it.

Well, I was a little different. I surrendered, wanting to know the answers and started allowing what was, in this moment, to be OK. I started allowing who I was to be OK NOW – even when the world told me I wasn’t!

And then interesting opportunities began to present themselves and I played with the ones that caught my interest – until I let them go.

Sometimes we spend so much time trying to figure out what to do that we forget to BE. We spend so much time thinking there is something about us that needs to be fixed that we forget how awesome we are right now.

Many of you have asked for my advice – here it is…

For the next 7 days put down the lists, the journals, the self examinations, any and all of it that looks like a search for answers. Just put it down.

Also for seven days eliminate or severely limit anything that we humans like to use to distract us from ourselves – TV, radio, the computer, newspapers, alcohol, high intensity exercise, talking about our problems, etc.

Also for 7 days stop reading books – just let it all go.

What to do?
Well.....walk, sit, watch the thoughts that travel across the surface of your mind.

Doodle, sketch, color if you like

Dance

If emotions come up, let them and watch them, without judgement. Watch them come and watch them go and watch them come again.

BE WITH YOURSELF.
If this is too hard to do for 7 days – then do it for 2 or 3 – or even just one 24 hour period. Give yourself a break from this belief that you are required to be something you are not in order to be happy and fullfilled. Allow yourself to empty.

And then – when this period of quiet is over – pick up your journal and write about the experience – and write about the insights that came to you during this time…

I would also love to hear from you  :)

U or the EGO?

Do you really need other people's approval, acceptance, or appreciation first before you can give it to yourself? Absolutely not! Who you are is the energy and consciousness of love itself, and once you consistently realize this and openly shower this love upon yourself and others, you'll be free from everyone's opinions forever. Your ego was "programmed" by society to need approval, acceptance, and appreciation from the outer world. It hasn't realized that there is an infinite source of love beneath it at YOUR core, and that you can have access to it at anytime. The ego is a very ironic creation. It's about as real as your own shadow, and yet we build our entire relationships around its illusionary reality. As soon as you commit to the lightness and openness of your own being, the ego is no where to be found. What's the worst thing that could happen if you decided to let go of other people's opinions about you and chose to love yourself JUST AS YOU ARE 24-7?

One of the greatest secrets to transcending this game is that other people's opinions of you are only a reflection of what they see (or don't want to see) about themselves. Everyone is a mirror for each other. Their beliefs about you are a deep unconscious projection of themselves onto you, just to avoid looking inside themselves. So help out your fellow humans and give them their projections and opinions back to them! For 2011 don't take on ANYBODY'S projections or opinions about you! Stop the relentless ego from scheming to get others to like you, and instead, just practice loving yourself as you are. Be unguarded from their opinions. Let their opinions form freely, and honor that their beliefs are truly limiting thoughts about themselves in the end.

Trusting the Universe

As we create the life of our dreams, we often reach a crossroad where the choices seem to involve the risk of facing the unknown versus the safety and comfort of all that we have come to trust. We may feel like a tightrope walker, carefully teetering along the narrow path to our goals, sometimes feeling that we are doing so without a net. Knowing we have some backup may help us work up the courage to take those first steps, until we are secure in knowing that we have the skills to work without one. But when we live our lives from a place of balance and trust in the universe, we may not see our source of support, but we can know that it is there.

If we refuse to act only if we can see the safety net, we may be allowing the net to become a trap as it creates a barrier between us and the freedom to pursue our goals. Change is inherent in life, so even what we have learned to trust can surprise us at any moment. Remove fear from the equation and then, without even wondering what is going on below, we can devote our full attention to the dream that awaits us.

We attract support into our lives when we are willing to take those first tentative steps, trusting that the universe will provide exactly what we need. In that process we can decide that whatever comes from our actions is only for our highest and best experience of growth. It may come in the form of a soft landing, an unexpected rescue or an eye-opening experience gleaned only from the process of falling. So rather than allowing our lives to be dictated by fear of the unknown, or trying to avoid falling, we can appreciate that sometimes we experience life fully when we are willing to trust and fall. And in doing so, we may just find that we have the wings to fly.

When we believe that there is a reason for everything, we are stepping out with the safety net of the universe, and we know we will make the best from whatever comes our way.

Focussing

Staying focused in each moment allows us move with the rhythmic flow of the universe and harmonize our being. As modern life makes a wealth of information and opportunities available to us, we may find ourselves torn between a wide variety of interests and projects. Our excitement may entice us to try all of them at once, but doing so only diffuses our energy, leaving us unable to fully experience any of them. Like an electrical socket with too many things plugged into it, we may be in danger of overheating and burning out. But if we can choose one thing at a time to focus all of our attention upon, we can make the most of our life-force energy, engaging ourselves fully in the moment so that it can nurture us in return.

Our attention can be pulled in many directions, not only in our own lives, but by advertising, media, and the hustle and bustle of our surroundings. But when we take the time to listen to our inner guidance and focus our thoughts on the goals that resonate the most strongly within us, the rest of the world will fade away. This may mean focusing the spotlight of our attention upon developing one aspect of our work, one course of study, or one hobby to pursue in our free time, but it doesn't mean that we have to stay focused on only one thing forever. We may never know which of our interests is best suited to our abilities and heart's desires unless we give it a proper chance. By being fully present with all that we are and all that we have, we can experience each choice fully and make the most fulfilling choices for our energetic investments. Because we are multi-faceted beings, we are perpetually involved in many aspects of life in every moment. Our work in the world is necessary to attend to our physical needs, and our relationships are important for our emotional needs, but when we engage our spirit as well, we can choose the area that will nurture body, mind and soul. Staying focused in each moment allows us to stay balanced on all aspects of our being.

The First Chakra (Muladhara) Balancing

In dealing with all the chakras I would try to give a brief as it is in the texts and then I would be giving you a simplified version so that the post can address a wider audience.

The first Chakra or Muladhara is positioned close to anus, at the perineum, and it has four petals which match the vrittis of greatest joy, natural pleasure, delight in controlling passion, and blissfulness in concentration.

In Samkhya philosophy, the concept of Muladhara is that of moola prakriti, the metaphysical basis of material existence. Muladhara is the chakra that draws down spritual energy and causes it to assume a physical existence. It is like the negative pole in an electrical circuit, which provides the potential for the evolution of form.

Within this chakra resides sleeps the kundalini shakti, the great spiritual potential, waiting to be aroused and brought back up to the source from which it originated, Brahman.

Muladhara is the base from which the 3 main psychic channels, nadis, ida, pingala and sushumna, emerge.It is related to the physical processes of reproduction and excretion, and also to the various fear and guilt complexes associated with them. All a person's Samskaras ( potential karma ), are expressed here, in a physical form.

This chakra is associated with the deities Indra, Brahma and Dakini, the element Earth and the color red.

The energy that was unleashed in creation, called the Kundalini, lies coiled and sleeping, and it is the purpose of a tantric yogi( please do not entertain misconceptions that Tantra means sex because it does not, it literally means 'To Connect') to arouse this energy, and cause it to rise back up through the increasingly subtler chakras, until union with god is achieved in the Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head. Sahasrara is positioned above the head or at the top of it and it has 1000 petals which are arranged in 20 layers each of them with 50 petals. Often referred as thousand-petaled lotus, it is said to be the most subtle chakra in the system, relating to pure consciousness, and it is from this chakra that all the other chakras emanate. When a yogi is able to raise his or her kundalini, energy of consciousness, up to this point, the state of samadhi, or union with god, is experienced. The earliest known mention of chakras is found in the later Upanishads, including specifically the Brahma Upanishad and the Yogatattva Upanishad. These vedic models were adapted in Tibetan Buddhism as Vajrayana theory, and in the Tantric Shakta theory of chakras. It is the shakta theory of 7 main chakras that most people in the West adhere to, either knowingly or unknowingly, largely thanks to a translation of two indian texts, the Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, and the Padaka-Pancaka, by Sir John Woodroffe, alias Arthur Avalon, in a book entitled The Serpent Power.

Now, the easiest way that I have found to balance and charge chakras is to think about it as if you were cleaning off a greasy marble.

Let's start with the first Chakra you should always start with, the "Root Chakra"

The corresponding color is Ruby Red. The chakra is located at the base of your spine where your "tail bone" is. The Root Chakra is in control of things like "the fight or flight" reaction, our inner feeling of safety and serenity. When it is out of balance, you will find that you are generally restless, anxious, worried, afraid, or feel generally unsafe. It can also manifest into physical things like extra weight around your thighs or stomach.

Now, close your eyes and picture your Root Chakra. It's not complex, just picture a Red Chakra at the base of your spine near your rear.

It should be fairly small and clear rudy red, it should also be spinning clockwise. If it seems dark, muddy, cloudy, darker red, black or anything other than Rudy Red and clear, then it needs to be cleaning.

Whether it seems fully clear rudy red or not, take the time to wipe it clean. Just imagine that it's a marble that you can pull out and rub clean, like your wiping some dust or old grease off of a marble. Or you can picture drenching it in water to cleanse it. The important part is not in how your visualize that it is done, so long as you 'feel' that it is cleaner. Remember not to worry so much if you can't quiet 'see' it in your inner eye, this will come with practice if you can't naturally see it. Just knowing you are doing it is enough in most cases and it is common to not be able to see it when it is out of balance.

Now, try to notice if you can tell what direction it is spinning, or how quickly. A balanced and charged chakra should be spinning clockwise without wobbling and should spin pretty fast.

for simplicities sake, lets say your not sure how fast it's spinning or in what direction. Mentally make the chakra stop spinning. This won't hurt during this time, so don't fear doing it. Just stop it from spinning all together and then turn it clockwise. Don't worry to much about whether your going the right way or not, your mind naturally knows which way it clockwise and you will notice if it's not going the right way by the way it feels.

Once you have it going clockwise, imagine that you take a finger and spin it around as you would a marble on a table. Or for another image, think about what a pinwheel does when you blow on it. Or one of those little hand held electric fans. It spins and keeps going and going without much effort on your part. This is called "charging" your chakras. Once you have cleaned, balanced and charged your chakras, it is most common to "see" the color of that chakra flash before your closed eyes, or you might feel a connected happy emotion that corresponds to that chakra. Don't worry if it doesn't happen right away, it will with practice.

Then you are done with that chakra!

Home Remedies for Acidity and Heartburn

Synonym and Related keywords for acidity and heartburn: Indigestion, bloating, borborygmus and dyspepsia are all used to define this condition, which in many cases, occurs after eating.

Home Remedies for Acidity

1. After the meals, take one piece of CLOVE(Laung) and suck on it slowly.  This not only gives instantaneous relief but also helps in reducing the onslaught of diseases arising out of acidity.
2. Try chewing on a clove.  Eat a piece of Jaggery or Gur after lunch/dinner.
3. Bananas have protective action against the acidity and heart burn. Daily eat a Bannana will help.
4. Drink daily a 1 tsp juice of chebulic myroblan mixed with 1 tsp of amla (Indian gooseberry) juice.
5. Another good remedy is the usage of Jaggery (Gudh) after the meals.  About 5 to 10 grams of a Jaggery piece taken after the meals helps in eliminating acidity, improves digestion and also helps in the expulsion of worms in small children.
6. Aniseed or Saunf : Relieves abdominal pain, colon disorders, gas, gastrointestinal tract spasms. Effective for acidic stomach conditions (heartburn).
7. Ginger: Ginger is useful for digestion disorders. Helps relieve indigestion from rich foods.
8. Take equal amounts of ginger powder, black pepper, dried mint leaves, asafetida (hing), anise seeds, coriander seeds, cumin, fennel and common salt. Grind together to make a fine powder. Dosage: Take about 1 teaspoon of this powder with water, twice a day after meals.
9. Drinking water gives immediate relief to symptoms like wind, distended stomach and acidity.
10. Have a cup of vanilla ice cream or cold milk.
11. Chew bubble-gum and acidity will disappear. This is an easy and best way to get rid of Acidity.

Quick Home Heartburn Remedies (This is actually different from acidity)

Finding a home remedy for heartburn is not difficult; you just have to know where to look! When you feel that pain in your chest starting to hit, there are natural heartburn remedies around the house that will provide you with instant relief. Whether you don't have medication or choose not to take any, this article will provide you with some easy to find home heartburn remedies.

Heartburn is becoming more and more prevalent as our lifestyles and diet habits are becoming poorer and poorer. Even though there are home heartburn remedies that will provide instant relief, you should consult a doctor and find out how to stop heartburn or acid reflux before it gets worse.

With that said, let's get to those home heartburn remedies.

1. Saliva will help ease your heartburn. Try swallowing some, and if you need help producing more saliva think of a food that you absolutely love, or chew some gum.

2. Oftentimes, heartburn occurs due to gas pressing on the stomach. Try to make yourself burp by drinking a carbonated beverage. This should relieve some of the gas pressure and help you feel better.

3. Drink plenty of water and other beverages. When heartburn occurs, water will help reduce the acidity in the stomach.

4. The best way to instantly cure heartburn or acid reflux is by using antacids or baking soda. These neutralize acid in the stomach, causing you to immediately feel better. Baking soda is readily available in any store, is inexpensive, and you probably already have it around the house.

5. Do you have tea lying around? Herbal tea will make you feel better, especially ginger tea.

6. Aloe Vera has also proven to be a great heartburn home remedy. It has an alkalizing effect on the body, meaning it will help neutralize acid, and thus will relieve your heartburn. Aloe Vera juice is readily available in capsule or liquid form in many supermarkets and stores.

7. THE MOST important home heartburn remedy; you must lose weight and stop smoking. Both of these have been linked to heartburn and acid reflux, and are essential to your overall health.

This list should help you relieve your heartburn using easy home remedies, but they are no substitute for serious medical care. If you are experiencing severe, often heartburn pain you should immediately consult a doctor. If your heartburn is a rare occurrence, then by all means give these options a shot.

On popular demand- home remedies to common problems

I would be running posts on common problems and their home remedies. My first post is addressing the problem of Acidity. Please feel free to write anything else which you feel needs special attention. You can write in the Comments and I will run a post accordingly.

Building Self Discipline

Step by step approach to building Self Discipline

"If we don't discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us."-William Feather

Most of the people confuse building self discipline with increasing the will power. Willpower is more about inner strength and discipline focuses on external control. Self-discipline is the training and control of oneself and one's conduct, usually for personal improvement. Training yourself to be in control of your actions can dramatically change your life.

The first step towards discipline is being accountable for your own shortcomings. It is easy to rationalize undisciplined behaviors in our lives. Blaming outside circumstances, moods, or conditions will ultimately leave you feeling helpless in your attempt to change your habits. The sooner you can take responsibility for errors in discipline the sooner you will be able to turn things around.

Corporate PR representatives understand the value and effect that being responsible may have on the way their company is viewed. Whenever a corporation’s public image is in danger due to negligence on their part, the first statement that the public receives is an acknowledgement of wrong doing and an apology.
Shortly after that, a plan to reverse what has happened is usually put into place. If a car company released a vehicle that has safety issues, there is a mass recall. Then the company devises a plan to ensure that further measures are put into place to avoid a similar incident from happening.

This should be our approach as individuals. Whenever we have a standard that we live by, and we come short of standard, we should first acknowledge the shortcomings and then formulate a plan of action to reverse any damages. From there, we should look to put into place, measures that should prevent those shortcomings from reoccurring. The discipline to stick by those measures will be the key to success.

We need to discipline ourselves on two fronts, personal and professional.

Lets take a look at the personal discipline.
For the most part I am a very disciplined person who has built a reputation among some of my friends as having a large dose of willpower and focus. So how do I fall off the wagon sometimes? I analysed it from different angles and I eventually began to understand why I would stray from my disciplined routine. I began to identify my weaknesses and took action to prevent myself from sabotaging my own goals. One of the major steps I took was the elimination excuses. Now, what, you may ask, are those?
Well, we as a society have gotten very good at accepting excuses as truth. One of the main reasons procrastination is on the rise is due to individuals not being held accountable for their excuses. For example, if you called out from work and you gave the excuse that your kid was sick, it is very unlikely that your employer would follow up to see if you were telling the truth. Instead, you would get a sick leave and when you went back to work someone would ask, “Is your kid feeling better?” We are just as ready to believe the excuses we tell ourselves. Even if we know that they are not completely true, we accept them as truth.
Small lapses in our ability to control that voice in our heads that convinces us to do that thing that we don’t really want to do, result in a lack of control over our cravings, actions, and life. Once you’ve eliminated some of the excuses that have been holding you down, you are ready to tackle your personal problem head-on.

Identify the problem-What is it that you really want to be disciplined in? Do you have a weakness of eating unhealthy foods? Do you watch TV instead of working out? Do you avoid doing errands in your day until it’s too late? Whatever the problem is, narrow it down so that you are clear of where your lack of discipline seems to appear the most in your life.
Remove Distractions-It is Important that you remove those things that inhibit your ability to develop good habits. For example, if you can’t seem to eat unhealthy food when you are at home then remove all unhealthy food from your refrigerator.
Small Steps-Discipline is increased over time. If you begin to make small changes in your routine daily, you will begin to build the discipline muscle over a longer period of time.
Eye on the Prize-Even though you are making small strides towards being more disciplined, it is important that you keep your focus on where you ultimately want to be. Use affirmations to remind yourself of what you would like to accomplish and stay reminded of the negative outcomes that will occur if you do not complete your goal.
Stay Motivated- On the way to becoming self-disciplined, being motivated will give you the extra push you need when you are tempted to fall into your old undisciplined patterns. Building discipline is hard work and that’s why most people don’t have it. But if you can stay motivated enough to make it through the difficult times, you will be one of the few people that have the ability to conquer themselves.

Review -Take the time after each day or week to review what you have done to build your ability to be self-disciplined and note the results of those actions.  Do not expect your life to be completely transformed after one day of self-discipline.  However, there should be at least a small change that you can note and use as a small encouragement.

“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.”-Aristotle

Angels - A myth or for real?

Are there Angels?

This is a question that many have pondered over. Regardless of what your reaction had been to this thought, the fact is that angels have been referenced in almost every culture in the world. There are angels in Christian, Judaic and Islamic traditions. Angels were reported in ancient Assyrian and Mesopotamian legends, as well as, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Taoism. Regardless of education, spiritual orientation, or geographic location a common belief exists in helpful ‘spirit beings’. They have gone by many names: ancient Greeks called them ‘horae’, Vikings called them ‘valkyries’ and in Persia they were ‘farishte’. Traditionally, in Shamanism there are reports of ‘birdlike spirits’ ascending from the sky.

Before I continue, please understand that your religious beliefs, if any, do not matter in this scenario - because what I want to focus on with you is not the traditional religious interpretation of these otherworldly beings... But rather the concept that there are forces existing in a plane beyond our own, who are capable of influencing your life in many incredible ways.

Once You can connect with your Angel it will be able to Give You:

A rush of divine inspiration when you’re visualizing, writing, painting, making music, or doing any form of creative work (so you never have to stare into blank space feeling stuck or lost).

A solution to strengthening your relationships by helping you understand and communicate better with your spouse, kids or friends – or even by sparking a chain of events that lead to you meeting your soulmate.

Career guidance by giving you the inspiration and clarity to make better decisions at work or bond better with your co-workers.

Better physical and emotional health by training you to be more in tune with your body, so you can make better healthrelated decisions and even detect otherwise unrecognizable signs of illness that your body is giving you.

Enhanced spirituality by helping you control your thoughts and emotions, connect with your higher self, and find and pursue your life purpose.

When I started communicating with my spiritual guide, I did it quite accidentally. I was going through a very deep emotional crisis and I felt I was loosing my interest in living. My son was very young at that time and so, I had that guilty feeling that this state of mind was very unethical towards my son. In anguish, I just called out loud “What can I do, I don’t want to live yet I must. This is so unfair and I don’t even know what is the right thing”. To my amazement I felt as though someone said that Life is much more than this feeling and I felt a warm glow around myself. I was in such depths of despair that I did not realize that I started conversing with this voice in my head and slowly, I had calmed down. I gathered my scattered wits and composed myself. Then it suddenly hit me that I had been talking to someone and that I was very calm and composed! It is after this realization that I started analysing the moments that had passed and realized that I could call that voice by any name, even my guardian angel, if I so desired. Since that day, I consciously developed my communication with this Spirit being and have never felt lost and alone. In my case, I always sense it as a voice in my head. There are many people who get their answers and messages in their dreams by their spiritual guides. The experience varies from individual to individual.

No matter how you perceive these beings, angels serve one simple purpose - to guide you in your life. They are messengers of divine knowledge. We live in a physical world and wether you believe God created this world, or that it evolved naturally--we are bound by the physical forces of nature. But something does exist beyond the appearance of the physical, something beyond what your five senses can perceive; the world of Spirit.

Regardless of your personal spiritual beliefs, this spirit world is connected to the source of light and is founded in unconditional love. Angels come from this world and their purpose is to assist humans with their journey through the physical world. This doesn’t mean, however, that angels can impose their agendas on the physical world. In fact, angels don’t have an agenda. They are present only as neutral guides to help illuminate our path.

Well, more on this topic later….till then try to become aware of your spiritual guide and those 10 to 15 minutes of watching your thoughts float by is the first step towards enhancing your being to experience the subtle spirit!