Saturday, July 29, 2006

Yoga Clothing And Yoga Wear

Yoga has really increased in popularity in the last couple of years. Widely held as a great form of exercise for both your body and your mind, people have been adopting this ancient form of meditation all over the world. As far as equipment is concerned there is very little required to get started. As time goes by you will improve your technique, posture and that's when you start enjoying your routines a lot more. Even though there are no 'props' required for yoga, you will find certain specific forms of clothing that help you in performing these exercises. Not only will these clothing items make you feel more comfortable and confident in your training, but they should also assist you to improve your style.

One of the very important things to remember about yoga is that this practice has its roots in Hinduism which has been around for centuries. In its eastern form, there was no recommended attire. However, in the western form of this practice, it is not only the style of clothing that is important, but also the quality of the fabric that is used. There are also traditional stitching patterns and methods that are part of the yoga tradition and if you are serious about getting legitimate yoga clothing then you should make sure that you are getting real yoga stitching as well. This will require you to go to a high quality and serious manufacturer who really is dedicated to the art of yoga.

For those who are doing their own research on this topic please keep in mind that yoga attire includes monks meditation robes, sitting jackets, sitting pants, kimono and jubon. There are also western adaptations of these eastern traditional garments. Besides the clothing, there are also meditation cushions and traditional bags that can also help you with your development and commitment to yoga as an art.

At the very least you should look to make sure that the yoga garments you are considering purchasing are made from one hundred per cent pre shrunk cotton. You will also have to ensure that you can dry them on a clothes line after washing, or on the lowest temperature of your dryer.

You can get your yoga clothing in a variety of colours and also different weights depending on the weather conditions that you think you will be practising in. There are usually two weights, a light one for spring and summer, and a warmer heavier one for the winter and fall. The costs will vary but you should not expect to pay extortionate prices unless you are really looking at something special.

Yoga Positions A Few Tips

Yoga positions and the practice of yoga can be beneficial to your mind, your muscles, and even internal functions like your digestive system. With so many benefits, it is no wonder that yoga’s popularity is on the rise. Before you take it up, though, it is a good idea to have in mind the right information to help you succeed and get the most out of the experience. Take these yoga tips into account as you begin your physical, mental, and spiritual journey.

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice your positions often. Yoga offers many benefits to your mind, body, and spirit, and these benefits may be maximized with regular practice on your own in addition to your classes and with your teacher. As a beginner, it is especially important that you practice so that you may see and feel the benefits early on. With yoga, the frequency with which you work on your positions is as important if not more so than the length of the practice sessions. Try to find a few minutes each day to do a little bit of yoga.

Make sure that you practice your poses correctly. Most anything you read, watch, or listen to about yoga will tell you to practice often, but one of the yoga tips that sometimes get skipped is that you must practice right. Make sure that each practice session extends you. Do not practice only your best poses, but also work on poses you struggle with as well. Such a practice will be more productive and give you the feeling of self-assurance that you seek with yoga.

Maximizing Your Potential

One of the more important tips for beginners is to let go of your ego. In order to fully maximize your yoga experience, you must forget about such things as impressing your teacher and classmates. One of the central ideas of yoga is self-study. To fully study yourself, you must try not to compare yourself to the teacher or other students, but instead, you should strive to maximize your own learning and improvement during each class and practice session.

Finding Yourself

During practice, remember what is important. The depths of your poses are not nearly as important as how deep you delve into yourself. In yoga, you learn about your inner attention. Be sure to use that attention when practicing and when with your instructor to get the most out of your poses even if you cannot get deeply into them physically.

Finding the Right Teacher

No number of yoga positioning tips can compete with having the right teacher. When selecting a yoga teacher, make sure you find someone with whom you feel comfortable. Your instructor should have good knowledge and work through compassion and respect for you as a person. No matter how many books you read or tapes you watch, you will never get the feedback and encouragement that you will with the right teacher.

As a beginner in yoga, there are undoubtedly times that you feel a bit lost. That is okay. Hopefully, though, with these tips you will have an idea of what you need to do to feel more successful in your yoga experience. Yoga is not a religion, but in some ways it does become a way of life, and by following these tip you can start your journey toward that way of life on the right foot.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records are computer-based patient medical records. Physicians’ offices and hospitals throughout the United States are increasingly using them because they offer certain advantages over conventional paper-based medical records. Such records are also useful in processing health insurance claims and following up with patients. A key benefit to medical providers is the instant availability of data once it is entered electronically, and the space and labor savings resulting from the elimination of paper-based records.

Electronic medical records are readily accessible, increasingly standardized for seamless use where and when required, and greatly reduce the likelihood of error in either entry or interpretation of medical information. Having a patient’s medical and contact information readily available can be potentially life-saving during critical medical events such as severe allergic reactions or heart attacks. By reducing errors and saving time, electronic medical records may therefore help reduce the large number of deaths attributed to medical error in the United States each year.

In order to enter medical information into an electronic medical record, special software is required. The electronic medical records software industry is rapidly growing, and such software is becoming increasingly sophisticated. While basic software allows for entry of physician orders and notes and nurses’ notes, more advanced software may include error-checking programs, the capacity to synchronize with hand-held data devices, and other advanced features that increase the utility of records.

As electronic medical records are more widely used, concerns regarding the protection of patients’ confidential medical information and privacy have increased. In 1996, the US Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and a more stringent Privacy Rule went into effect in 2003. HIPAA sets required national standards for medical records, guarantees patients the right to see their own medical records, and requires providers to inform patients how their medical information is used and disclosed.

Advanced Medical Transport

Certain medical situations cannot be adequately met even by state-of-the-art medical transport facilities. Such situations can include multiple traumas (such as in serious multi-vehicular accidents) involving on-the-spot life or death matters. In such cases, the time involved in responding to a call and transporting patients to a medical facility is critical.

Advanced medical transport comes in various shapes and formats, but often involves online contact with medical specialists while patients are in transit, the ability to transmit medical readings such as EKGs via the Internet for instant evaluation, etc. The operative factors in advanced medical transport are specialized paramedical personnel and reduced response time.

The services offered by such a facility invariably include a full complement of critical medical procedures, including intravenous administration of life-saving drugs, artificial respiration, the ability to reverse diabetic reactions and drug overdoses, advanced pain control and management via specialized drugs, life support for prematurely delivered babies, etc.

Advanced medical transport facilities maintain a round-the-clock staffing of their rescue treatment units, be it by land, sea or air. The service may be a paid one, but most American states also feature the availability of advanced medical transport outfits that are not operating with a profit motive. These are entirely community-oriented services that are not subsidized by taxpayers’ contributions.

Advanced medical transport calls for extremely refined communications and computer-aided dispatch systems that respond to an emergency call within a matter of seconds. Vehicles used in such a service are generally state-of-the art and are kept on constant alert. Such services also operate on a constant rotating duty system of specialized staff, so that medical professionals are literally always on call.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

A Guide To Depression

Depression can happen to anyone at any time. It is a medical condition that, if treated, can be managed or cured. A depressed person lacks interest in most activities that were once enjoyed, and lacks energy throughout the day. Most of the time, a depressed person’s is irritable. Family and friends notice signs and symptoms changes in appetite or weight, changes in sleep patterns, restlessness or decreased activity, feeling tired and lack of concentration. Depression can affect anyone, and it can last days, weeks or months. Some people are chronically depressed throughout their entire life. To be considered as suffering from depression, these symptoms should last two or more weeks.

Many people suffer from this medical condition. It affects people of all ages, backgrounds and ethnic groups. Over 34 million American adults suffer from depression, and over half this number involves women.

A depressed person has trouble sustaining a job and often suffers from sleep disorders. There is a general, overall feeling of worthlessness, guilt and sadness. Depressed individuals may turn to drugs and alcohol in an attempt to alleviate the problem. However, drugs and alcohol only make depression worse.

Symptoms of depression can be so severe that some people contemplate or commit suicide. However, before depression becomes that intense, a person should seek treatment from a qualified physician. There are many medications and programs that work and are available to help treat depression. On the proper medications and with counseling, a depressed person will feel better and be able to function at some level of normalcy. The medication may be temporary or something that will needed for the rest of the depressed person’s life.

Help A Depressed Person

Depression affects your mind, as well as your body. If you have a friend or a loved one who is depressed, it can be extremely painful to witness. However, there are ways that you can help.

If you have a family member, friend or loved one who is depressed you can provide support by just being there. Sometimes letting a depressed person vent frustrations and fears is at tremendous help. You may be able to encourage this person to seek medical help, and that doing so does not show weakness or lack of character. It might be a good idea to show support by going along for the first appointment. The therapist may wish to speak with you about signs and symptoms. Once it becomes clear that something is amiss, you can suggest that he or she seek professional help. (This is critical since only one third of people with mood disorders ever receive treatment.)

Learn all that you can about depression. You will be better able to detect radical changes in your friend’s behavior for better or worse and pass this information on to the treating clinician.

Ask how you can be of help. As noted, sometimes talking helps a great deal, or you might try encouraging some outdoor activities like walks or dining out.

Most important, always look for signs of suicide threats. If a depressed person starts talking about dying, that is a sure sign that immediate help is necessary. Tell the primary care physician immediately, and encourage your friend to talk about these feelings.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Emergency Medical Transport

Emergency medical transport is usually mentioned in context with insurance-related medical services. Where an insurance policy is supported by an emergency medical treatment rider, the policy holder can avail of pre-approved emergency medical transport when required.

The response times and costs involved in emergency medical transport differ vastly from advanced medical transport. There is usually an extensive ‘paper trail’ of verifiable billings to be maintained, and the most cost-effective means are often considered the most viable by the service providers. However, the fact remains that it is a valuable service that can save lives and avert untold suffering where normal medical services will not suffice.

The commercial and bureaucratic angles aside, emergency or critical care medical transport personnel, such as nurses and paramedics, are trained in the special requirements of patients who are being transported from one place to another. The idea is to enable them to offer a degree of in-transit medical service that is comparable to that available at a full-fledged hospital or trauma unit. Such training includes life-saving techniques such as cardiac, hemodynamic and neurological management.

Emergency medical transport is usually called for when a patient (or group of patients) requires instant care for shock, multiple traumas, organ failure, contamination (especially in industrial accidents), etc. Emergency medical transport personnel are able to transfuse blood, keep airways open, restart and maintain heart functioning in the case of heart attacks or strokes, counter diabetic or drug overdose-related reactions, deliver babies, administer sedatives and otherwise deal with a plethora of medical situations as effectively as in a hospital setting.

Meditation Relieve Stress and Live Longer

For hundreds of years sages, wise men and yogis have practiced meditation and extolled the benefits. In today's hectic world there is no better time to take up meditation.

What is Meditation?
In simple terms, meditation is quietening your mind. If you stop for a moment and watch your thoughts you will notice that you are always thinking. You may be worrying about this and that, planning something, replaying earlier events or conversations. All the time your mind is an incessant chatterbox. With meditation you can clear your mind, quieten and even stop, the chatter - and reap enormous benefits.

Why Meditate?
The benefits of meditation are immense. Practising meditation regularly has been shown to reduce stress and lower blood pressure. Living a calmer life allows you to live longer and more happily, you look younger than your years, and you are much more able to cope with life's inevitable setbacks and difficulties.

Meditation has also been shown to increase alpha brainwaves. Alpha brainwaves are the type of brainwaves used in creativity and problem solving. The more you meditate the more creative you will become which could lead to both personal and professional breakthroughs.

How Do You Meditate?
There are tapes and CDs available to help guide you into a meditative state but they are not necessary. All that you need is to find a time and place where you can relax and not be disturbed. The environment should be quiet and comfortable. You can play soothing, quiet music if you wish.

The intention is to relax your mind. One way to do this is to focus on an object or a sound to occupy the mind and stop it chattering on about anything else. Some people who meditate focus on a candle flame or a flower. Or you could close your eyes and focus on a sound in your mind, such as Ah-umm or Ohmm.

The most important thing to remember about meditation is not to force anything.

Meditation is not concentrating, it's not forcing, it's not even trying. Meditation is relaxing and allowing. It is Being.

When Do You Meditate?
You can meditate at any time you choose - morning, noon and night. You can even fit in a session of meditation during your lunch break from work. There are no rules about meditation. See what works for you. And equally, there are no rules about how long you should meditate. If you can only manage five minutes a day you will still feel the benefits after a very short period. Some of the Eastern holy men meditate for hours, or even days, at a time. While their experiences might be more heightened than yours, it really isn't necessary to meditate for great long periods.

Meditation is easy. Meditation is relaxing. And meditation is very good for you - try it and see for yourself.

Meditation The Gateway to the Soul

Meditation is the gateway to the soul. It provides the illuminated path of shifting from the ego self of the soul into spiritual oneness. It is the key to unlocking the ego self of the soul, shifting the energy of the ego self of the soul being one with our soul thereby bring spiritual oneness within us, within our soul. It is within meditation that we shift vibrationally to connect with Spirit. Meditation assists us with our spiritual journey to realize our life's purpose within this life experience. Benefits of meditation, though free from being sought in meditation, are indeed derived from meditation praxis. Some of them include being focused, centered, and grounded - especially amidst the appearance of the illusion called distractions, soul balance and harmony, a deep genuine feeling of calm and relaxation, a continuous state of absoulute love and well-being, a remembering of our connection with all, of all, for all, and in all that is, and an awareness of the one infinite moment.

Meditation is the key to continuously sustaining an inner peace and calm within. Moment to moment meditation enables us to remain connected to the infinite love, infinite knowledge, infinite wisdom, infinite understanding, infinite connection with all, infinite light, even when the perceived craziness of life and of circumstances in life that may occur.

Meditation is simple the act of going within, shifting the energy, and being within. Free from placing any thoughtenergy on the illusion of linear time or space. Free from the perceptions of what we call here on this earth dimension as rules, regulations, or judgments. It is simply being with what is in the present moment and recycling or shifting the energy, our thoughtenergy to reflect that.

Meditation is the tool we utilize to be centered and focused in our life. To enable us to feel the natural joy, peace, absoulute love, and balance flow. Thus, when the perceived storms or hurricanes of life come our way, we will be an observer to the chaos, rather than a participant in it. We are the center of calm and serenity within the eye of the storm. What a marvelous shift from the perception of somehow being separate from life, from everything, and every soul within it! We are free from the perceived need to wear the victim or martyred robes that we were once in axiom with when in a meditative state. When are grounded and centered in the physical body and within the soul in each moment within the one infinite moment, we simply watch the illusionary storm of the ego self of the soul’s e-motions (or energy-in-motion to assist us with the re-membering or memory of the soul rememberings through life experience) such as pain or anger, pass through us as it is free from staying in or with us when in a meditative resonance.

We may discover that those souls who are seemingly illusionally stuck in the paradigm we once were, will ask us for a helping hand. This will be our opportunity to help all souls to shift the axioms of they believe they are into spiritual oneness as well. At that moment, we are the presenter or the present er or gifter of this gift, as well as, the receiver of one of the greatest gifts on this earth dimension and of the celestial cosmos...the gift of absoulute love. As this gift of absoulute love and compassion pours from within us, we will be spreading the healing seeds of the soul onto and into this earth dimensions and out into the universal cosmos to illuminate all souls. The beautiful buds and fruits of this gift will then blossom all around us and the shifting of energy will occur through the universal cosmos. We will notice the energy shift in us and our consciousness and in this earth dimension around us as we will to take on an enlightened state of wonderous, awe-inspiring life.

Earth Dimension Duality Ways of Meditation

Spirit shares that in earth dimensional meditation, we are asked to be in axiom with a duality form of meditation. This form of meditation says that there is some sort of steps we are to do, a certain state we are to reach, and a certain way we are to be. Earth dimensional meditation techniques include repetition of an affirmation such as chanting a mantra, or perhaps following our breath, gazing into a candle flame, listening to another souls guided words to us etc. These are done for the sole purpose of training the physical body brain to remain in the present moment and to allow our spirit, our soul to be then guided into being free from the physical body brain being at the forefront. These techniques use a fixed experience outside the physical body to center and attempt to still, quiet, turn off, or somehow push aside the physical body brain and its programs that it runs.

Spirit explains that it is like that of a computer. That the physical body is like a computer and that this computer machine continues to run until just like that computer, we choose to run another program within it. The computer or the physical body machine is free from knowing anything other until we show it another way of perceiving life. What the infinitely spiritual light being reveals with the traditional form of meditation is we are attempting still the physical body brain, something of which is free from being stilled. They bring forth the wisdom that the physical body and the brain which is included within the physical body, is a machine, and that it is programmed to continue to run until we shut it down by sleep. Even during sleep, the physical body maintains an existence so as to keep the heart beating, the breath within it to sustain itself. Thus, we are free from ever stilling the physical body brain.

What in essence occurs within what we call here on this earth dimension as the traditional mediation form, is that we create a vicious cycle of attempting to still something that is free from being meant to still. Through continuous praxis within this way of being, what we call here on this earth dimension as results can and may be felt. However, Spirit says that usually when we meditate in this fashion, we tend to be what is known as distracted either by the machine of physical brain processing thoughtenergies such as “Oh I forgot to do the dishes from dinner” and “I have that report due tomorrow for the boss” and “Oh what will I wear to work tomorrow? Let’s see maybe that blouse or this shirt, or maybe…….” When these distractions occur, we come into the illusion of the ego self of the soul as “Oh this meditation stuff is for the birds” and we refrain from continuing to develop any form of praxis within meditation at all. Meditation then is seen as a dreaded ‘have to if I want to be enlightened’ way of life, of which we avoid.

Multi-Dimensional Meditation is All

The infinitely spiritual light being knows that there have been many what we call here on this earth dimension as spiritual masters and mentors whom have brought forth this message of this form of meditation. We thank them for within them bringing this wisdom to us, as it has enabled us to now remember and treasure the spiritual wisdom of multi-dimensional meditation as well.

There were moments for many earth dimension years that I would be within the ego self of the soul with my husband Aaron as he would spend (in this earth dimension concept known as time) hours just what I call ‘vegging’ in front of the television, even falling asleep with it on. Or he would spend what I called then as “too much time” on the computer playing computer games and such. I used to have huge ego fits about this.

It was when I received the channeled information through the infinitely spiritual light being that I came to shift the axiom that I had held for so long within the ego self of the soul believing that I was somehow separate from Aaron. His computer playing and his television watching immediately placed me back into that little six year old girl who chose a choice to make a ‘decision’ to cut off her daddy because she believed her did not love her and that she was unworthy of absoulute love which I write of within The soul remembering through life experience in absoulute love. This illusion created yet another illusion that Aaron was doing this to somehow “be separate from me” to mean that I was separate from him, separate from life, and unworthy of absoulute love.

The soul remembering that came forth once I remembered this was astounding to me. Spirit shared with me the wisdom that Aaron was merely meditating. That television watching and computer games were his form of meditation! Wow! It was as if someone had turned on the light inside my soul!! This revelation brought me back to my dad in realizing that what occurred when I was six was just an event that occurred simply for me to has this soul remembering that had just occurred with Aaron, that it was just that I chose to be forget and continue on with my ego fit inside about my dad and about Aaron in reaction to who they were choosing to be.

In this moment of revelation, I chose to shift the axiom of the resonance that I chose to be within choosing to be in that moment and chose to be enlightened, which brought about a way for me to be within the soul remembering through life experience in compassion and in forgiveness of allowing my dad and Aaron to be just as they are free from me having to change or fix them. That they are whole and complete just as they are and how much absoulute love and bliss I feel for them that they are being the light of who they are within this form of meditation. I was then able to for give, give thanks for each of them bringing forth the wisdom of this soul remembering to me and to Spirit for their wisdom as well.

When we choose to view meditation though multi-dimensional spiritual oneness, anything and everything we are and choose to be, can be a meditation. Walking to the bus stop, making dinner, washing your clothes, eating. Reading this book right in this moment is a meditation. These everyday earth dimensional experiences are meditative when we bring a oneness of infinite possibilities and a fullness of our being into our experience.

How much consciousness and presence can we have while we are washing the dishes? What a present, what a gift, within this presence of washing the dishes! Spirit shares with us that in multi-dimensional meditation there are thoughtenergies that pass through the physical body brain, yet we are free from any electrical static clinging to them. We can allow the physical body brain to continue its machinery program, free from having to change or fix it, rather just simply allowing it to be while we continue on with our meditation. It is by simply including and merging the physical body brain within the meditative process that gifts birth to infinite possibilities within mediation. It creates meditation as a FUN (Feeling Universal kNowledge), blissful, joyous, absoulutely loving process. Even cleaning, making dinner, washing and folding a load of laundry can be seen as FUN, blissful, and joyous, as we are ‘falling in love with’ these very things for the meditative process and spiritual inspiration, being ‘In Spirit’, that it gifts us with!

Feeling the warm water run across our hands, the sound of scrubbing the pan, the smell of the soap as we clean - the beauty, the awe, and the wonder of this earth dimension looking out the window while we clean - this too is meditation. Meditation is an effortless awakening of the soul through universe multi-dimensional processes here on this earth dimension. Anytime we are concentrating on something even while the thoughtenergy of the machine that is constantly running, we are meditating. We can meditate while walking or moving, lying down, standing and sitting; while silent or speaking. We are free from the “have to’s” of sitting in a certain meditative pose as we can be whatever is most comfortable for us in each moment. We are free from having to “quiet” the physical body brain, or reach a certain state. We can simply allow the physical body, the brain within the physical body, and the Soul or Spirit, to co-create together harmoniously as one. Free from being separate entities to be controlled or pushed aside. Free from having to “do” anything, as meditation is always, in all ways, with us and within us. Free to simply be as one.

It is when we are in the continuous conscious awareness of ‘what is’ in the moment which gifts us with a fragrant feeling of bliss! All our attempts to strive, struggle, reach, and achieve as certain state of enlightenment now shift into a space of spiritual oneness within the meditative experience, within our soul, and within LIFE (Living Infinitely From Experience) and we are being a playful witness of our divine being. It is the simple experience of our very essence, our inner core that is so rich and full of life! This is what meditation is!

In earth dimensional meditation, on the physical body resonance, it is believed that one reaches a delta brain wave state. There are what is believed to be four states of brain wave activity. It is well known that the brain is an electrochemical organ. It is through this electrical connection in the physical body that gifts us with our connection of the soul. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of brainwaves. When we reside within a multi-dimensional meditative state, we are then able to see and resonate deep within our soul that what are known here in this earth dimension as these four states are really as one, and occur instantaneously, simultaneously within the physical body brain during multi-dimensional meditation. They are free from being four separate and distinct states that one is to 'go through'. Rather they are the physical body and the physical body brains responses to multi-dimensional meditation.

Multi-dimensional meditation brings an awareness of how our soul essence simply just IS. Over this earth dimensional’s concept of time, we are then being observers - able to just as in being the Observer to view ourselves in synchronicity of experiencing the Absoulute Love within and to observe our humanness, this machine from a perspective of the watcher or observing what event is occurring and our e-motions of this event, free from being wrapped up in the events and e-motions that are occurring. We gain the freedom to choose whether to act on our thoughtenergies and e-motions. We treasure the inner wisdom of being in the moment and of the e-motional dramas. All the wisdom, all the energy, and all of the ways of meditation is within us. Thus, we come to resonate with the wisdom from Spirit that our soul already knows that we simple have forgotten - that we are continually in the praxis of meditation in every moment. It is within multi-dimensional meditation then that we open the pathway of the soul to effortlessly glide into what are considered as earth dimensional forms of traditional meditation, as we are free from feeling that we somehow ‘supposed to’ meditation in a certain way, or reach, or achieve anything, as we already are being meditation in everything and anything. It is already there, and we are free from having to “do” anything, we can just be.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Why Meditate

The side effects of meditation are positive and countless. Studies have demonstrated that those who meditate on a regular basis have reduced illness, stress, and need for rest.

But one of the most compelling reasons to meditate is that the process of meditation itself is sublime. Meditation is not dependent upon the result, but the act of meditation itself is a blissful one, transporting one to a state of contentment and tranquil awareness during the training of meditation itself, not just at the end of training. Actually, because the means equals the end, the training has no beginning and never ends.

All of us in modern times experience a constant onslaught of stress. We are bombarded by uninvited energies in the form of such things as television, noise pollution, arguments, and angry or envious people. In order to counteract this enormously overwhelming force of negativity and distress, we need a superior power, gathered within ourselves; and meditation connects us to this internal reservoir of cleansing, enlightening energy.

In former times, nature surrounded people in their daily routines and rituals of existence. There were no artificial sound vibrations from telephones or machinery; there were no stresses and diseases resulting from urban industrial complexities. There was the sound of water, the hum of the wind, the beauty of the stars in the sky, and the scent of the earth. There were natural tempos in every aspect of life, as people planted seeds, nurtured them into foodstuffs, and as they observed the cycles of nature they felt a connection to them. Nowadays we can live our entire lifespan without ever contacting nature in a direct way. We live in artificially controlled climates, we gather food from fast food restaurants or from stores where it is packaged in a factory; we invite a total divorce of ourselves from our natural origins and our organic, original pace of life.

Meditation allows us an easy, convenient, portable method to enter into those lost natural rhythms and aesthetics, by closing out the world around us, letting go of our bodies, and clearing the mind of all the artificial stress it gathers knowingly or unknowingly during the course of lives.

Meditation costs nothing, it has no harmful side affects, and it won’t add calories or cholesterol to your body. Nor is it addictive in the sense of drugs and alcohol. But it does provide practitioners with an elevated sense of well-being, often compared to a natural “high” more powerful than those induced by drugs, and this component of meditation is one that can be fully embraced for positive, healthy benefits.

The human body is a complex creation, and in the brain the body naturally produces drugs that are hundreds of times more powerful than pharmaceutical narcotics. As one meditates, the body secretes mysterious hormones and chemicals that actually provide an incredible rush of energy and happiness, and this is only one of the amazing side effects of meditation practice.

Meditation is different things to different people. Some use it in place of, or in addition to, psychotherapy. Others find it most valuable as a tool to enhance sports or work performance, and to increase the memory and other mental functions. Some people rely upon it to help them deal with grief or the aftermath of trauma or tragedy, and to regain a contentment and appreciation for life’s beauties. And there are those who use meditation as a creative tool to inspire them in the arts. Meditation gives us stronger and more sustainable vigor, sexual energy, and calm, as it provides a restfulness that is comparable to deep, exceptionally restful sleep.

There are countless reasons to meditate, and one way to make the world a better and more peaceful and harmonious place, is for all of us to dedicate some time out of our stressful lives to pause and drink from the mental oasis of meditation practice.

7 Minutes Meditation for Busy Folks

The greatest asset you have as a business person is your mindset while your most expensive commodity is time. Seven minutes meditation gives you the best of both worlds. With a little practice in a little time, you come up with problem-solving ideas with amazing ease. Your friends will think that you're a genius. And you will really feel good about yourself and your accomplishments. This is because meditation puts you in the alpha state of mind that enhance creativity, blasts tension, and indecision. You know what to do on every occasion because you’ve learned to think on autopilot.

What is meditation? Meditation is a process of mental exercise that primes the brain and centers the heart to cultivate productive ideas. This encourages whole brain thinking that put you in the zone of peak performance. You must be in the know to be in the flow. Therefore knowledge of how the brain works is crucial.

How does it work? It works when you work it into your consciousness. There are different segments of the brain which tend to work independently of one another. Each part may even antagonise another. The four cardinal parts of the brain are the left (intellectual) brain, the right (intuitive brain), the mid-brain (emotions) and the hind-brain (reticular activating system). When all the parts of the brain work together, you are focused and obstacles are eliminated. If not, disarray, failure, and tension are the norm for 95% of the population. Meditation fixes these problems by helping you develop complex and more efficient neuronal connections that encourages whole brain thinking—the way most geniuses and top achievers think. Joshua 1:8 says that with meditation, you shall be able to deal wisely with the affairs of this life. That sounds like genius to me!

Seven minute per session meditation shortens the process. Mental energy loss due to scattered thinking is minimized because your mind is forced to focus on the results instead of rehearsing the problems. This is a powerful too for personal direction, goal-orientation and personal power. You’ll be calm in the midst of turmoil. All this is achieved by concurrent use of seven components of meditation.

1. Personalization: You must use personal pronouns in your affirmation when you repeat or recite your mantra. Don’t use meaningless word from a guru or what you copied somewhere. Come up with your own tailor-made phrases based on specifics that you’re programming for yourself. When you personalize words, you own them and emotions are involved which create attachments. This is how you call up the help of the energy currency of your human spirit. This helps achieve your goal sooner than later.

2. Localization: Don’t think of all your problems or challenges at the same time. Narrow your meditation session to one problem at a time. This is how you channel your energy to burn the problem just like a concentrated sun ray sets a piece of green paper ablaze. Yes, concentration is the heart of contemplation as you become a power house of creative ideas.

3. Memorization: To save time, you must keep the solution to our problem or goal you’re programming for your self at the back burner of your mind. For recall in subsequent session, you must repeat your mantra to yourself for it to stick in your deeper mind. Some people write it down and look at it. Writing down you 'focus phrase' alone increases retention by three hundred-fold while highlighting with yellow and sky blue increases retention by three-fold. Highlighting with red calls for urgent action. The more senses you engage, the better your retention and recall. The greatest programming is what you tell yourself. It is powerful in shaping your self-image. It is called auto-suggestion. Note that all improvements in your life starts with improvements in your self-image. We don't see the world the way it is; we see the world the way we are. Based on your self-image, you shape your world with your words.

4. Verbalization: This is called learning by mouth. Positive confession is the most powerful way of getting the word deep down in your human spirit where the will and gut to make things happen reside. Know that it is your words that shape your mind, and not the other way round. Repetition is the key. The discipline of repetitive verbalization of your goals is the mother of all achievements. Don’t be tempted to stop by looking at circumstances. The words you speak also create pictures.

5. Visualization: Image is everything! You must visualize to actualize. The fact is that the soul cannot think without pictures. Visualization rests on the premise that everything is created twice (in heart and mind) before it manifests in the physical world. A picture is truly more than a thousand words. It also takes descriptive words to create pictures. This art of making mental movies is like photography. Good photographers are always focusing only on the pictures they want to develop. This time, we prefer movies (motion pictures) to posters (stagnant) pictures. Get a picture of the replica or representation of your dream—what you want to be, do or have. Rehearse it again and again in your mind with gusto. Put emotion to it as if it has already been achieved. When the picture takes, the results show up sooner than later with consistent practice.

6. Actualization: This is the doing part. Doing is the most powerful part of programming. “What I hear, I may forget. What I see, I may not remember; but what I do is part of me,” says a Chinese Proverb. No amount of mental rehearsal or confession can get the job done. Your thinking creates your reality; your action brings it to you. No blueprint has ever carried out itself and no war strategy has ever fought a battle. People do! The whole essence of steps 1 to 5 is to bring you to 6. Meditation is a process. The seven minutes forces the brain to think in a time frame by giving it deadline. This triggers the reticular activating system to provoke the subconscious mind to come with a solution. Subconscious mind is the center of the law of attraction in the brain. The thrill is in the doing. “It is the law of nature that those who do has the power and those who don’t have not the power.” Said Ralph Waldo Emerson.

7. Manifestation: This is the result of implementing steps 1 to 6. This is the outward evidence of success that everybody sees. Most untrained folks don’t understand the law of process. They tend to attribute success to luck. LUCK is laboring under correct knowledge of all the steps.

How to Meditate: Putting the Pieces Together. Understanding the Seven P’S:

• Purpose: you must keep the reason why of your meditation before you.
• Prospects: Rehearse the benefits at the back of your mind. Your intention will keep your attention. Otherwise your mind will get bored and that will erode your confidence and believe in the system. Purpose and prospects are related.
• Place: You must establish a specific place for meditation. The free wheeling life style of anything goes will not cut it. Otherwise you lose focus. Some people use a corner of their room or office to do.
• Period. You must establish a specific time to stand and end. Some people prefer early in the morning immediately after waking up from sleep. Whatever you do, don’t meditate while driving, operating a machinery, after eating or when you’re tired. Don’t meditate on the bed or bedroom. The mind has learned to associate those with sleep. You’re time window is a maximum of seven minutes.
• Preliminaries: These are preambles to get you ready. Remove belts, ties, shoes, and jewelries.
• Position: The best position is lotus or the Buddha position. It helps strengthen your body frame, improves your posture and makes you a little uncomfortable so that you can’t fall back to sleep. Never lie down. It is associated with sleep. Alternative positions include sitting on a chair and relaxing all your muscle groups. This works best at office hours.
• Practice: This is where all the techniques come together. Here you close your eyes to avoid distraction and encourage focus, relax your muscles and recite your mantra from memory using personal pronouns. You also visualize your end-goal as if it has already happened bringing gusto to the whole exercise. You should be done in less than seven minutes.

A closing thought:

Meditation is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your business. If thinking is everything, then it is the most important thing. You can describe your life or design your future in the present by meditation. Every great person that has ever lived was a great thinker. Jeffrey Bezos used it to found Amazon.com; Pierre Omardiya did the same with eBay. Bill Gates takes a whole week off just to meditate. Bill calls it 'think week.' ‘Think and Grow Rich’ is all about the use of your mind power to create wealth.

So don’t wait for flashes of inspiration to hit you like a thunder bolt, prime your goldmine and you will always produce gold. Creative juice will flow effortlessly and automatically with practice and priming your brain. You become a living magnet that attracts money, health, happiness, influence, protection and relationship because you are aligned with the energy of the universe where every good thing originates. The laws of the universe are the laws of success. It is in our heart and mind that God teaches us the secret to unlock the vault of the universe. It’s all within you waiting to be harnessed. “That’s GREAT (God Rewards Every Active Thinker),” says my friend, Ed Gray. Meditation is what makes the great, great and separates them from the rest.

Meditation Relieve Stress and Live Longer

For hundreds of years sages, wise men and yogis have practiced meditation and extolled the benefits. In today's hectic world there is no better time to take up meditation.

What is Meditation?

In simple terms, meditation is quietening your mind. If you stop for a moment and watch your thoughts you will notice that you are always thinking. You may be worrying about this and that, planning something, replaying earlier events or conversations. All the time your mind is an incessant chatterbox. With meditation you can clear your mind, quieten and even stop, the chatter - and reap enormous benefits.

Why Meditate?

The benefits of meditation are immense. Practising meditation regularly has been shown to reduce stress and lower blood pressure. Living a calmer life allows you to live longer and more happily, you look younger than your years, and you are much more able to cope with life's inevitable setbacks and difficulties.

Meditation has also been shown to increase alpha brainwaves. Alpha brainwaves are the type of brainwaves used in creativity and problem solving. The more you meditate the more creative you will become which could lead to both personal and professional breakthroughs.

How Do You Meditate?

There are tapes and CDs available to help guide you into a meditative state but they are not necessary. All that you need is to find a time and place where you can relax and not be disturbed. The environment should be quiet and comfortable. You can play soothing, quiet music if you wish.

The intention is to relax your mind. One way to do this is to focus on an object or a sound to occupy the mind and stop it chattering on about anything else. Some people who meditate focus on a candle flame or a flower. Or you could close your eyes and focus on a sound in your mind, such as Ah-umm or Ohmm.

The most important thing to remember about meditation is not to force anything.

Meditation is not concentrating, it's not forcing, it's not even trying. Meditation is relaxing and allowing. It is Being.

When Do You Meditate?

You can meditate at any time you choose - morning, noon and night. You can even fit in a session of meditation during your lunch break from work. There are no rules about meditation. See what works for you. And equally, there are no rules about how long you should meditate. If you can only manage five minutes a day you will still feel the benefits after a very short period. Some of the Eastern holy men meditate for hours, or even days, at a time. While their experiences might be more heightened than yours, it really isn't necessary to meditate for great long periods.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Choosing Your Fitness Equipment

Fitness equipment is a large group of tools that are used in exercise and are referred to also as exercise equipment. These can include simple items such as balls, track shoes and skipping ropes as well as more complex pieces of equipment such as treadmills, weights, bicycles and many others. Today a wide range of fitness equipment is available for sale with new designs constantly being produced due to the high demand for equipment that is effective in building muscles and strength as well as for losing weight.

Some of the types of fitness equipment available for use can be classified according the type of exercise for which they are built. The first class to be discussed is the strength training equipment. These include free weights and machines referred to as the resistance machines.

The most common type of resistance machine is one that uses gravity as a resistance source. This design is used mainly in weight machines. Gravity in combination with a simple design of pulleys, wheels and inclines, uses a percentage of the weight of the user as the resistance transferred. Other types of resistance machines can use other forces other than gravity to provide resistance. These include friction, spring-loaded, fan-loaded or fluid-loaded machines.

Another type of equipment belonging to the strength training equipment is the bands and tubing, which are lightweight options for training at home and in the office.

The other class is the aerobic fitness equipment which is mainly the endless-path machines. These include devices such as the stationary bicycles, the treadmills, the elliptical trainers, aerobic riders, the stair climbers, the ski and rowing machines. The stationary bicycle focuses the exercise on the legs by the action of pedaling. The treadmills are an all body exercise as you may walk or run at various speeds. There are also some models that can simulate slopes for a more intense workout.

The stair climbers replicate the action of climbing a stairway. This device now also has modifications that replicate the pulling up action off the hands for a more through workout. The skiing and rowing machines work both the arms and legs simultaneously with the rowing machine also working the back muscles. The elliptical trainers are a cross between the stair climbers and the ski machines. The aerobic riders also exercise the arms and legs at the same time by the use of a simultaneous pull and push motion.

There is also a miscellaneous group of fitness equipment. These include items such as heart rate monitors and exercise balls as well as many others. The heart rate monitors are used as a motivational tool in exercise as they monitor the heart rate and provide feedback to the individual exercising. The use of exercise balls has become very important in training such as flexibility training and for balance as well.

When using any type of fitness equipment it is always important to seek professional advice as the improper use of this equipment can cause severe damage.

Should You Do Stretching Exercises Before You Work Out

Everyone needs to make use of some good stretching exercises before they do any other kinds of exercises. Stretching exercises are not something that you need to do just once or twice a week. It is important that you do some great stretching exercises before you exercise each and every time. These stretching exercises will help you to get your muscles warmed up; and ready for anything that you throw at them. With out stretching exercises you are bound to pull some muscles and this can hold you back.

You cannot afford to let your muscles get pulled and torn if you want to get in good shape, that is why it is so vitally important to learn some good stretching exercises.

The stretching exercises that you choose need not be too complex or too fancy, they only need to work. And not all stretching exercises are for everyone. There are different levels to stretching exercises just as there are with any other kind of exercise as well. The stretching exercises that you choose to do each time you work out should suit your exercises and your body.

For example you do not want to try advanced yoga on the first day you have tried yoga. You need to work up to the more advanced levels of stretching exercises. Keep this in mind and start with simple and easy stretches. This is the best way to stay in good shape all throughout your body. Remember that if you hurt yourself doing your stretching exercises you will not be able to do your regular exercises, you will be in too much pain. Even missing a few days can really throw off your stride when it comes to your exercise routines.

There are many books out there for you to read that will help you to find the best stretching exercises for your body type and fitness level. If you cannot afford to go out and buy a bunch of these expensive books then consider checking them out at your local library. There you will find all kinds of fantastic stretching exercises and they will not cost you anything, they are all free.

You can also find all kinds of great stretching exercises online. These will be everything that you need in order to start up a good stretching routine. These will keep you in tip top shape all year long and looking your absolute best. There are hundreds of websites on the internet that will be able to supply you with many different stretching exercises. These are the stretching exercises that you need to get your hands on. It is also these stretching exercises that will change your entire life. If your exercise routine needs a little pick me up then you can use these stretching exercises in order to give yours just that.

Your Physical Fitness Keeping Your Body Healthy

It is important to be fit, everyone knows that. Your physical fitness has a big impact upon how you feel about yourself, and how much effort your body has to expend in order to keep working. Lack of physical fitness has supposedly reached an epidemic proportion in America, though the truth is that Americans are obsessed with physical fitness, and TV doctors and celebrities alike make a fortune through selling fitness videos and books to the public. Unless you’re planning to buy ‘em all and use them as weights to lift up and down every day, none of these will ever do your physical fitness any good at all.

The best way to improve your physical fitness is by incorporating regular activity into your daily routine. It is not necessary to take out full membership of your local gym, or even attend one exercise class. What it does mean is choosing an activity that increases your heart rate, or improves your strength and general flexibility. Walking a few more blocks, doing some gardening or housework, climbing the stairs, are all examples of something that can fit quite easily into your routine, but which can also increase your physical fitness. Taking the elevator, driving the car to the shop at the corner of your street, and spending more time in bed are all things that will not improve your fitness level.

A healthy lifestyle cannot be a fad, or something that you will do ‘next year’. It should be on your ‘to-do’ list all year round, not just as a New Year Resolution that you never intend to keep. Once you start on an exercise regime, you will need to keep that up for the rest of your life; or your physical fitness will be lost, and you will have to start all over again. Without regular exercise, the muscles reduce, and fat takes its place (muscles do not become fat, they merely move over to make more room for it if they aren’t used). It is therefore important that you choose a regime that is going to keep you interested in the long term; every year throws up a new ‘fitness fad’, but most people take them up and then discard them after a fortnight. Instead, choose something that you enjoy. If the thought of being instructed on stepping up and down on a plastic board fills you with scorn, then you might try something else – martial arts are always popular, and a physical fitness regime which incorporates some kind of team sport will also help to keep you interested.