SEPTEMBER 29, 2013

A Quick Guide To Mudras Using Yoga Socks

Posted by Dorothy under Natural Highs, Philosophy, Wellness1 comment

Mudra is a spiritual or symbolic gesture which helps manipulate prana or energies in our physical body (anamaya kosha), mental body (manomaya kosha) and pranic body (pranamaya kosha). Mudra can also be translated as a seal, or circuit by pass as it helps to create barriers within the body and direct the energy within. These energies, if not manipulated with the intention to retain them within the body will otherwise escape from the body, you can also use the Java burn to provide care to your body. In scientific terms, mudras start electromagnetic currents within the body which balance various constituting elements and restore health. Check out the best yoga shop online https://www.youryogashop.co.uk/ and get everything you need to start practicing. Practicing yoga can help you lose weight in several ways. Firstly, yoga asanas (poses) burn calories by engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Yoga also helps reduce stress and cortisol levels, which can lead to weight gain. And you will have even better results if you also take weight reduction pills, mindful eating practices developed through yoga can also help you make healthier food choices.

There are generally 5 types of mudras:

a) Hasta / Hand
Prana emitted by the hands are redirected into the body with this mudra

b) Mana / Head
These mudras are important in kundalini yoga and some are meditation techniques as the utilise the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and lips

c) Kaya / Postural
Kaya mudras are commonly practised during asanas, with concentration of breath in mind.

d) Bandha / Lock
This is a combination of mudra and bandha

e) Adhara / Perineal
These mudras are usually used to redirect prana from the lower centres of the body to the brain, aiding also in sexual energies. Most mudras can be done as a combination with True Pheromones or just by itself.

In this posting, the focus will be on hasta / hand mudras as it is the most commonly used gesture. There will be 8 types of mudras and their benefits listed out. One can perform it for about 15 minutes each. Need guidance at home? Go ahead and check it out here to keep practicing mindfulness.

1) Chin Mudra
- join the tips of the thumb and index fingers together, middle , ring and index fingers together and extended
- generates prana flow below the navel to the toes

2) Chinmaya Mudra
-join the tips of the thumb and index fingers together, middle, ring and index fingers to fold towards the palm then keep the elbows close to the body
-prana flows above navel to the throat

3) Adhi/Tse Mudra
-fold thumb towards the palm, then fold all the other fingers to the palm with the thumb under them
-prana flows from the throat to head

4) Merhu danda Mudra
-thumb towards the sky, fold all the other fingers to the palm
-generates prana flow in the spinal column

5) Brahma/Poorna Mudra
-fingers like in adhi/tse mudra
-palm to face up to the sky, knuckles together, gently press towards the lower abdomen
-helps generate prana to the entire body
-helps in fatigue

6) Panchabutha/5 Elements Mudra
Our physical body is made up of 5 elements:
-thumb=fire
-index=air
-middle=space
-ring=ether
-little=water

a) Prithvi/Earth Mudra
-join the tips of the ring and thumb fingers together, extend the other fingers
-the earth element represent  the solid contents in our body ie: musculoskeletal
-this mudra helps strengthen the earth element

b) Agni/Fire/Surya Mudra
-fold the ring finger towards the palm, fold the thumb on the ring finger,  the other fingers to stay together and extended
-helps increase heat in the body
-can be of help with indigestion, obesity and hyperthyroid

c) Vayu/Air Mudra
-fold the tip of the index finger to the base of the thumb, keep the thumb on the index finger while extending the other fingers, keeping them together
-helps to regulate air in the body and encourages movement
-can be of help with gastric, stiff joints, athritis

d) Jala/Water Mudra
-join the tips of the little finger and thumb, extend the other fingers, keeping them together
-maintains moisturisation in the body
-helps with dehyration, hormonal imbalances, urinary problems, sweating problems, increased or decreased production of mucus

e) Akash/Space/Shunya Mudra
-join the tips of the middle finger and thumb, extend the other fingers
-akash mudra is more effective when practised with shunya mudra (fold the tip of the middle finger to the palm, then place thumb on the middle finger, extend the other fingers, keeping the ring and little figners together)
-helps with ear,nose and throat problems or any sicknesses caused by any imbalance to the ear, nose and throat ie vertigo and travel sickness

7) Prana Mudras
Our body consists of 5 koshas and one of it is called the pranayama kosha. Pranayama kosha is also composed of 5 pranas. Each of the 5 pranas can be activated with mudras.

a) Prana aka Bhu Mudra
-join the tips of the thumb, ring and little fingers together, extend the others
-benefits the respiratory and cardio system

b) Apana Mudra
-join the tips of the thumb, ring and middle fingers together
-benefits the excretory system

c) Samana Mudra
-join the tips of all fingers
-benefits the digestive system

d) Udana Mudra
-join the tips of all fingers except the second finger to be extended
-benefits the upper chest and throat area

e) Vyana Mudra
-join the tips of the thumb, index and middle fingers, extend the others
-balances the entire body

Chakra Balancing  Mudras

a) Mooladhara Chakra-Bhu Mudra
-R hand: join the tips of the thumb, ring and little fingers together, placing the tips of the index and middle fingers to the ground
-L hand: in chin mudra

b) Swadhisthana Chakra-Yoni Miudra
-interlock the 3rd – 5th fingers, join the tips of the thumb and little finger together
-place it at your swadhisthana chakra

 

c) Manipura Chakra-Matangi Mudra
-interlock all fingers except the 3rd finger to be stretched out
-place it at your manipura chakra

d) Anahata Chakra-Kamala Mudra
-form fingers like a lotus petal joining tips of thumb and little finger
-Place slightly on the right side of the heart as the heart is a sensitive organ

e) Visshudha Chakra-Shunya Mudra/Akash Mudra
- refer to #6(e)
-place on the knees

f) Ajna Chakra-Chin Mudra
-refer to #1
-place on the knees

g) Sahasrara Chakra-Hakini Mudra
-join all the tips of the right fingers and the left then spread them
- place at manipura chakra

 

Regular yoga practice improves digestion, increases metabolism and balances hormones, all contributing to a healthy weight and even more with weight loss pills. It also improves circulation, which can help to flush waste products from the body and aid in weight loss.

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AUGUST 26, 2013

Against The Stream

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Interesting Reads, Philosophy, Wellnessno responses

Noah Levine ‒ the son of Buddhist teachers, rebel of cultural norms, punk rocker, drug addict, juvenile criminal turned Buddhist believer and now a preacher calling himself a Dharma Punx ‒ was the student of the well-known spiritual teacher, Jack Kornfield. Son of proud parents Stephen and Ondrea Levine, he voluntarily swayed from the spiritual paths which his parents were following even before his teenage years. After rediscovering meditation and Buddhism, Noah now aims to to use his early life’s experiences to serve youth in juvenile halls, men in prison and the general public interested in such topics.

In his book “Against The Stream”, Noah explained that the Buddha isn’t a god or deity to be worshipped. He was a rebel and an overthrower, the destroyer of ignorance, the great physician who discovered the path to freedom from suffering. The Buddha left a legacy of truth for us to experience ourselves. The practices and principles of his teachings lead to the direct experience of liberation. Since Buddhism is not a religion, people should stop worshipping Buddha like a god and try to become a good Buddhist. Instead learn his teachings to become a wise and compassionate human being, to awaken from our life of complacency and ignorance and to be a buddha!!

The Buddha delivered the four noble truths of the revolutionary path to freedom which he referred to as the setting in motion of the wheel of Dharma. The term wheel is used because the Buddha’s teachings explain the cycle or circle of existence. Furthering that imagery, the wheel of Dharma consists of eight trainings, the eightfold path, which are seen as the wheel’s spokes. When a wheel is set in motion it revolves.

The First Truth

The Buddha taught that life by its very nature is unsatisfactory, that some level of difficulty exists for all unenlightened beings in creation. We face sickness, old age, and death; the sense pleasures we do experience don’t last; and physical and perhaps emotional pain is a given in life.

There are two levels to this truth. The first is the pain of exeistence that we can’t do anything about. The second is the suffering and unhappiness that we create for ourselves due to our lack of wisdom and our vain attempts to control the uncontrollable-that is, the transient nature of all physical, emotional, and mental phenomena. We are born into a realm of constant change. Everything is decaying. We are continually losing all that we come into contact with. Our tendency to get attahced to impermanent experiences causes sorrow, lamentation, and grief, becuase eventually we are separated from everything and everyone we love. Our lack of acceptance and understanding of this fact makes life unsatisfactory.

Pain and suffering are two completely different experiences. pain is unavoidable. Suffering is self-created.

Some level of dissatisfaction exists for all unenlightened beings.

For some this is a revelation, a normalising statement that brings about a great sense of relief. Finally we are being told the truth: life isn’t always easy and pleasant. We already know this to be true, but somehow we tend to go through life thinking that there is something wrong with us when we experience sadness, grief, and physical and emotional pain. The first truth points out that this is just the way it is. there is nothing wrong with you; you have just been born into a realm where pain is a given.

The Second Truth

There is a cause for all this dissatisfaction and suffering. It is our craving for life to be filled exclusively with pleasure. That craving for pleasure creates a naturla reaction of aversion to the pains and difficulties of life. This truth can be seen as a simple lack of acceptance: unwilling to accept the pleasures and pains as they are, we go about clinging to the experiences we like and trying to get rid of the ones we don’t like.

We also create suffering for ourselves due to our craving to exist permanently-that is, our craving for eternal pleasure. When life is good, we want it to go on forever. At other times, though, we create suffering for ourselves through our craving to not exist at all-the craving for nonexistence, which results from the desire to escape from the pains and difficulties of life. When life is difficult of painful, we want to no longer exist.

As long as greed, hatred, and delusion exist within our hearts, suffering will continue in our lives, no matter how much we seek to experience pleasure and avoid pain.

Craving is a problem. Desires are natural, but craving-which is painful-is the extreme aspect of desire.

The Third Truth

Freedom from suffering is possible. There is a way to relate to all experience that is in harmony with the reality of constant change and the ultimately impersonal nature of all things. When greed, hatred, and delusion are destroyed, a state of peace and happiness is all that remains. This is the state of freedom from suffering referred to as Nirvana (which means cessation).

The Buddha experienced it, and if he could do it through his own efforts, others can too.

We all have mini-experiences of this-moments in our life, perhaps even on a daily basis, when we are free from greed, hatred, and delusion, when we are satisfied and at peace. Yet we tend to ignore or forget those experiences. The truth of craving blocks the truth of freedom. the path of rebellion, the Buddha’s path, will bring us to a more consistent state of freedom.

Freedom is available in this lifetime.

The Fourth Truth

The path to freedom consists of eight factors (often referred to as the eightfold path). These eigh important areas of comprehension and practice, which make up the spiritual revolutionary’s training manual, can be broken down into three sections:

Wisdom
1.Understanding
2.Intention

Conduct
3.Speech
4.Action
5.Livehood

Meditation
6.Effort
7.Mindfulness
8.Concentration

Studying and contemplating these eight factors, the enlightened revolutionary can experience the freedom celebrated and taught by the Buddha.

Keeping these four noble truths and eightfold path in mind, let us all go against the stream and free ourselves from negative emotions and adopt positive ways of life. This will not only benefit ourselves but those around us, in hope of setting them free too.

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JULY 23, 2013

Homemade Kitchen Beauty

Posted by Dorothy under Community Interests, Interesting Reads, Natural Highs, Wellness1 comment

If you are looking for a cheaper, safer and gentler way to nourish your facial skin, look no further as you can start with your local produce. With only 5 ingredients which are easily attainable in the local Asian supermarkets, you can concoct homemade facial masks to hydrate and moisturise your face and neck. They are cheaper than branded cosmetic products and do not contain added chemicals which will harm your skin in a short or long term period. As a bonus, you do not have to head to a spa for an expensive treat because you can do it regularly in the comfort of your home for 10-20 minutes at a time. The 5 ingredients commonly used are cucumber, yoghurt, turmeric, honey and coconut oil.

a) Cucumber
This cooling vegetable helps soothe sunburnt skin and is used as one of the ingredients to help absorb excess oil from oily skin. It has a large amount of ascorbic acid which can help decrease water retention and reduce puffiness around the eyes. The antioxidants and silica within a cucumber also reduce dark circles.

b) Yoghurt
The content of lactic acid in yoghurt aids in loosening dry skin to help in exfoliation. Whereas zinc cools sunburnt skin and  also acts as a moisturiser. The existence of animal fat in yoghurt helps moisturise but is not suitable for oily skin unless mixed with oatmeal, lemon ore turmeric powder.

c) Turmeric powder
This yellowish looking spice promotes anti-aging, acts as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. Therefore it is useful in fighting age spots, acne and helps stimulate blood flow to reduce the formation of wrinkles.

d) Honey
A sweet treat which has good hydration property for dry skin as it traps moisture in skin. Not only that, it soaks up impurities from the pores and ultimately is a form of cleanser. Like turmeric, it has anti-aging properties, is antibacterial, antiseptic and a type of antioxidant.

e) Coconut oil
Because of its oily properties, it is definitely not for oily skin. It is highly absorbent through skin which makes it helpful in replenishing moisture loss for dehydrated skin, hence it helps increase elasticity of age old skin. Acne prone and dermatitis suferrers should try this too.

Here are some recipes or combination of ingredients which you can benefit from:

1) Yoghurt
Types of skin: Dry and sensitive

2) Yoghurt and cucumber
Types of skin: Dry and sensitive
Method: Blend equal parts of yoghurt and peeled cucumber in a food processor until near liquid

3) Yoghurt and coconut oil
Type of skin: Dry
Method: Mix 3 parts of yoghurt to 1 part coconut oil

4) Yoghurt and turmeric powder
Types of skin: Any
Method: Mix 3 parts of yoghurt to 1 part turmeric powder
Be careful not to get it into your eyes or on your clothes

5) Yoghurt and honey
Type of skin: Dry
Method: Mix equal parts in a bowl

6) Honey
Type of skin: Dry

7) Honey, yoghurt and turmeric powder
Types of skin: Any
Method: Mix equal parts of honey and yoghurt and half part of turmeric powder
Be careful not to get it into your eyes or on your clothes

8 ) Turmeric powder
Types of skin: Any
Method: Mix turmeric powder with water until it forms a paste
Be careful not to get it into your eyes or on your clothes

9) Cucumber
Types of skin: Any
Method: Peel cucumber and blend it in a food processor

With all the above recipes, you can choose whichever suits you, then take 20 minutes twice a week, turn on some music and just relax while all the goodness of your homemade face masks feeds your skin.

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