Centering Your Breathing in Yoga

I hear a lot of people complaining about being "Pissed" I have been there, I am STILL there in a way, that's why I write this blog, so that I can journal some of my thoughts. Yes they can go very deep, but in the end we're not into being superficial, we want the answers. lol Well the FIRST thing I have learned while thinking is that to successfully think, you need to clear your mind. Sounds confusing? It isn't only with clarity of mind will you received that thought that once eluded you. Being calm and centered should be everyone's goal. Its not easy, but it should be tried!

How do I clear my mind? By centering my breathing. Now let me warn you, this isn't as easy as it sounds AND it takes practice. But let's make a start eh?

The process of centering one’s breath is called ‘Pranayam’ in Yoga. Pranayam is extremely powerful technique of ancient yoga. The concept behind this breathing exercise is quite simple. In the process of breathing exercise, one has to maintain a rhythm of breath. When the air moves in the body, it creates harmony. This harmony creates a healing effect, and therefore, it is very good for the body. . .

. . . When you perform initial exercises, you will notice the benefits in a day of two only. The first effect of centering of breath is that your mind will become very calm. When you practice the advanced techniques, you can never suffer from severe cough, cold and a lot of other diseases.So, the process of centering yoga is quite simple yet extremely powerful. Those who perform Pranayam on regular basis rarely fall ill.

Here's what you do:

1. Sit with your back straight in a comfortable chair, NOT a lazy-boy or soft armchair. You can do this lying down BUT its better to do it sitting. If you lie down you WILL fall asleep, and if that's your goal, cool. :)
2. Put your hands in your lap one hand in the other. Relax your shoulders.
3. Place your feet firmly on the floor, flat and relaxed.
4. Take a NORMAL breath and on the exhale breathe ALL the way out as much as you can. Then
5. fill your lungs all the way up by breathing in normally but exhaling when you have filled your lungs.
6. Do not PANT. Do not Breathe HARD. Just breathe normally. In and out, exhaling all the way, breathing IN all the way.

When you do this a couple of times start concentrating on your breathing. The exhale and the inhale is ALL you're going to be concerned about. Feel your chest rise and fall. Feel your feet's contact with the floor, your shoulders relaxing, your body relaxing as you concentrate on your breathing.

Do this for five minutes. (believe me it will not seem long after you do it a few times)

Now here's the HARD part. You have to stop thinking. You will discover that when you do this exercise you will notice ALL the thoughts running through your head, a cacophony of noise that you never actually LISTENED TO, but is there impacting on your brain. "DidIturnoffthestove.didIputthecatout.Mybackitches.Ishouldhavepaidthatbillbefore.whyisitsohot?hasfiveminuteselapesed?Iwanttolookatmywatch.Dumdeedumdeedummdaddada. . ." And so on. When you begin the excercise this is normal. The practice comes in IGNORING these thoughts and thinking only of the breathing.

But what happens next? When you stop thinking you start calming down. You start relaxing and your brain starts resting. 5 minutes of this every morning will help you deal with the day better.

Trust me.

Now stop thinking and go breathe! :)

excerpt taken from www.maniacsportfan.com

Raising the Angostura Bitters

So I was sent this a few days ago and thought it worthy to share. Trini's constantly look for ANYTHING that smacks of home and one thing that ALWAYS smacks of home is having a bottle of Angostura Bitters. I was once told by a bar man in Paris that he had a bottle of the stuff and had NO idea what it was for. It was just collecting dust on the shelf as decoration. Well the ENGLISH seemed to have more luck using it. The writers and producers of "Raise the Titanic" worked it in to the script to give the scene some Cornwall "local flavour" but isn't it cool for it to be said in a movie? Trinidad should spend more time catalouging things like this and using it to put ourselves on the map.

Too bad this movie was BAD. (The book wasn't that good either) Come to think of it NONE of Mr Cussler's books are that good. . . lol check it out here:

This is getting serious. . .

This is the latest NASA Satellite pic of the Gulf Oil Spill. Amazing isn't it? This will not end in a few years, this will affect the planet for the next 50 years! Sigh. I am going back into the cave for a while. :P Sad just sad.

Some words of Advice. . .

From Mr Rowley to Mr Warner from Hollywood.

Bruno's Ready for Football. . .

. . .are you?

Love it.

>

Its FOOTBALL season!!

Tomorrow Trinidad stops and for the next month will be glued to the TV. Personally my team never made it. Yes I am die hard T&T supporter, but we shall not speak anymore of this. :) I haven't decided yet who I will support although I'm leaning towards England and maybe Italy. However I know that these two won't win. But then, things that have happened in the last few months have! For all you know the United States will win the world cup. lol So to kick off the month here are some of the sexiest supporters in the World Cup. Enjoy!

 

See the rest here. Sexy World Cup Fans

Chuck

This is so funny. Just had to share it.

Shoeboxblog.com

Anti BP images from the Internet

Coming off of our election its evident that the internet has become an ally. But what if it becomes a foe? I am not defending BP in the least for its HUGELY deficient way of handling this oil spill, on the contrary, they SHOULD be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Yet we have to wonder, if BP falls what happens to us here in Trinidad? We can see a HUGE problem if the company folds and has to lay off its local workers. We will have a major social catastrophe on our hands here AND in every OTHER country that BP resides in. But we can't dwell on the future too much, except to watch it unfold. Regarding the internet, where it was a boon to one political party it was the bane of another. In this case the internet is proving hard to "spin" for BP. Have a look of some of the anti-images conjured up by citizens horrified at the event.

Credits: Super Mario Killed by BP! by Zero Lives
some images via io9.com

Orgasmic Knowledge

I seem to be on roll here. Finding these things VERY interesting. I like to share. Anyone willing to test the theory of who REALLY has more nerve endings? :)


Via: Medical Insurance

Urine

Here's another one for you all. I think its good to know these things. For those "offended" by this. Sorry, but you SHOULD open your minds a little. And remember knowledge is power!

Wow. This is interesting. And Slightly Disturbing. :P

Who says I gotta be talking politics all the time. And now for something thought provoking and different:

Think about that. Now think of where Trinidad sits in there. Look at number 18. Go figure.