CHAKRASANA

Chakrasana is one of the most important asanas. This asana activates the nerves that pass through the spinal chord. You will feel young and refreshed. This asana corrects hunch back. Spinal chord gets stronger. Discourages laziness and encourages the body to be active. Liver, and respiratory organs are strengthened. Older people appear youthful. It tones the spine by stretching it fully and keeps the body alert and supple. The back feels strong and full of life. It strengthens the arms and wrists and has a very soothing effect on the head. It gives one great vitality, energy and a feeling of lightness.

 You can begin with 3 executions of minimum 15 seconds. After  2 weeks increase the duration by 30 seconds until you reach 3 minutes. Although this position is very good for the heart, people suffering from heart disease will have to practice it gradually. If practiced late in the night it may cause insomnia for certain people. In such cases it must be practiced in the morning or long before going to bed.

From the psychic point of view immediately after the execution of this position, we will experience good humour and spontaneous enthusiasm. If the execution of Sarvangasana causes pain at the shoulder level, Chakrasana practiced as a counter position immediately eliminates this problem. This posture stimulates spinal nerves, eliminates constipation and indigestion, combats gases, and adjusts spine curvature disorders.

It cures rheumatic pain in the muscles of the lower back. It adjusts menstruation. It is an antidote against obesity for both sexes. It is highly recommended for dancers.

WE CAN!!

Yes we can achieve anything that we can conceive & believe.

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can

The performance of anyone is very much influenced by his:

-          Willingness

-          Competence

-          Ethics.

Willingness is based on  one’s internal & external motivation. Knowing one’s purpose or having a clear goal is the greatest motivation for anybody to act on that. The true purpose of anyone should be aligned with his/her uniqueness. We are all unique! Our talents, likes & dislikes, beliefs, mental makeup, our neural paths are unique. Hence understanding our uniqueness is essential to know why we are willing to do something and not willing to do something else. Internal motivation is also known as Inspiration. If you want to be willing to do something, it is very important that you should be inspired to do that first.

Competence is based on your skill, knowledge, talent. It can be learned. Anything you do repeatedly, becomes your skill. More you know/learn  about what you do & why you do, your skill become more precise.  Knowledge & Skill need to go hand-in hand.

Ethics reflects the values behind what you do or you refrain from doing. It is the righteousness or Dharma behind your thought, speech & action. If you do anything which is unethical (according to you), you will not be able to sustain that action for long and it will have its own side effects too.

Now if you are not performing  in any area in your life(be it in your career, studies, business, keeping good health , creating wealth or building relationship) up to your expectation/standards, then you need to understand where you need to pay attention. Is it on willingness or competence or ethics?

 If you are not willing to do a job, may be it is not aligned with your uniqueness or you are not clear about your  life purpose.

 Ask your self, "what are the skills I need to possess to do the job well? Do I have them? How can I  acquire them?  Am I improving/updating my skills constantly to keep up with the changes?".

 Similarly ask yourself  whatever you are doing is ethical or not. Is it for the common good of all in the short-term and long-term?

We need to understand it is easy to work on willingness & competence and change them for better but it is relatively difficult to change our values & ethics as they are deep rooted.For good consistent performance High self-esteem, Values & Beliefs play very vital role.
 A quote from Georges Clemenceau  would be appropriate here ," A man's life is interesting primarily when he has failed- I know very well. For it is a sign that he tried to surpass himself. Begin to free yourself at once by doing all that is possible with the means you have and as you proceed in this spirit the way will open for you to do more."

 If we believe we can then we can and with the right internal motivation we will.

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CHALLENGES

The word 'Challenge' is a very interesting word. Challenges bring the best out of anyone who face them bravely.All of us face both minor and major challenges in our lives. How we deal with those life challenges determines how we experience life – as a struggle to survive or as an

ongoing adventure in growth and fulfilment.

The word 'Challenge' has a positive connotation. The word ' Problem' on the contrary has a negative connotation. If you call your friend over phone and tell him that you have a problem that might make him defensive.It might not let him come forward freely to listen to you further. The word 'Issue' is neutral. If you tell your friend that you have an issue he will be neutral while listening to you. Similarly, if you use the word ' Challenge' your friend might even express his willingness to participate and join hands with you to meet the challenges. Still better, if you can use the word 'Opportunity'. If you tell your friend that you have an opportunity, he will definitely be happy to listen you. Same situation- how you view and what word you use to convey the situation makes all the difference.


What if we could learn to see life's challenges in a whole new light? What if we could learn to see  them as highly beneficial experiences, adventures in learning, or even blessing in disguise? Wouldn't that be a welcome shift in perception?


The truth is, with the right mental attitude we can completely reframe the way we experience challenges. And asking the right questions is one of the most effective ways to do that. With a little practice we can come to view challenges as some of our most valuable life experiences.


All leaders have the courage to challenge the status quo. This has resulted in positive changes in the world we live. Have you ever noticed that every challenge also contains a blessings in disguise? If not, perhaps you haven't been looking closely enough! Granted, life's challenges usually seem like inconveniences when they interrupt our schedules, or get in the way of something we want to do. Isn't that part of the reason we call them challenges?


Questions you can ask yourself when facing challenges:

1. What can I learn from this?

2. What knowledge, skills & abilities I need to face them?

3. How can I improve my knowledge,abilities & skills?

4. Do I have right attitude to get the best out of every challenge I face?

5. What behavioural flexibilities it will bring to me?

6. What and How I can make the best out of these challenges?

When it comes to facing the challenges and learning from them, our best teachers are                    ' Children'. We can learn a lot from children as to how they face challenges and convert them easily into a learning tool. For children, challenges are fun. They want more of them. This is the secret of their growth, success & happiness.

The only thing that is permanent in our life is 'Change'. Great challenges change our negative beliefs and enables us  to reach our full potential. Great challenges make us strong and get rid of our dysfunctional fears. Please watch my video shown below.

Our environment is always benevolent and keeps providing us a lot of challenges every moment to bring the best of ourselves. I define 'LUCK' as the meeting point of the opportunities & challenges passing by and our alertness. Opportunities & Challenges are always present in our life. It is our alertness makes us either Lucky or otherwise. The short cut to success is grabbing the challenges coming in your way with both hands. Now I know what would be your attitude  when you face your next challenge. Go & Grab them with full courage and conviction and make success & happiness as your friends.

MEMORY

What  is memory?

Remembering & recollecting thoughts is known as memory. The function of reflection and recollection is the memory. Memory is the capacity to retain and recall information about past and present incidents.  Memory power varies between individuals. In Sanskrit, the word ‘Memory’ is called ‘smriti’ The yoga sutras describe memory as ‘an experienced object not being lost from the mind.’

“Memory is the measure of ability to reproduce the knowledge that is known”, says Yogacharya Vishwas.

“Memory is holding on to that which has been known.”- The Hindu Texts.

“Memory is the calling up of an object from past experience,” say Patanjali Sutras.

All experiences are stored as impressions and can be recollected like the data bank of a computer. Memory is one of the sources of thoughts as we have seen in one of my earlier postings. Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity of the memory. Now, we know why good memory and money(Goddess Lakshmi-wife of Vishnu) go hand-in-hand.

Where is memory located?

Memory is not an object to be placed  or located anywhere. Most people talk about memory as if it were a thing they have, like a bat or ball. Our memory is not a ‘thing’ you can touch. It is a concept that refers to the process of remembering. We confuse information that are stored with the memory.  Information needs place to be stored and hence can be located but not the memory as it is a process.

Is there short-term or long-term memory?

Yes. There are

Sensory memory:  very very short-term memory. Lasts only a fraction of a second. It is your sensory memory that allows a perception.

Short-term memory:  Lasts for 20 or 30 seconds at a time. We can increase the short-term memory by using various memory techniques. For example, a ten digit number such as 6258409317 may be too much for your short-term memory to hold. This can be divided into chunks as 625-840-9317 and may actually stay in our short-term memory long enough to use that number. Likewise by repeating the number to ourselves  we can keep resetting the short-term memory.

Long-term memory:  The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely it is to end up eventually in long-term memory or to be retained. Unlike sensory and short-term memory which are limited, long-term memory is unlimited. Most people think long-term memory when they think of ‘memory’ itself-but most experts think information must first pass through sensory and short-term memory before it can be stored as a long-term memory.

Short-term memory is the function of conscious mind and long-term memory is the function of sub-conscious mind.

Is there anything called ‘good’ or ‘bad’ memory?

When we want to remember something, we retrieve the information on an unconscious level, bringing it into our conscious mind from sub-conscious mind. While most people think they have either a ‘bad’ or a ‘good’ memory, in fact most people are fairly good at recollecting some types of things which interest them and not so good recollecting other things which don’t interest them. If you do have problem remembering something(assuming you don’t have any physical disease)-it is usually not the fault of your entire memory system but of an inefficient component of one part of your memory system.

Why don’t we remember things at times when we want to remember them badly?

The memory system comprises of encoding , storing & recollecting the information. If we don’t pay sufficient attention at the of time encoding the information  it is very likely we will face problems in recollecting that information. Association is a good method of storing information. The more the information is repeated or used, better it is stored.  If you have ever tried to remember something( a friend’s name) one time and could not, but then later(after the friend left) you remember his name, it could be that there was a mismatch between retrieval cues and the encodings of the name you were looking for. Moreover subconscious mind cannot be accessed by force or by will. It can be accessed by a relaxing way.

How does one develop his memory?

Asanas: The inverted postures(like sirsasana, halasana, sarvangasana) nourish the brain with increased blood supply and supply of oxygen to the cells that help in developing memory:

Pranayama: Deep breathing exercises that help in the increased flow of prana and oxygen to the body parts and the brain, enhancing memory power

Meditation: Helps to clear the mind of unwanted thoughts and reduces excessive thinking. It is said that excessive thinking saps the mental energy of a person. Daily meditation helps to keep the mind calm and free of tension. Meditation on the third eye(activates the frontal lobes of the brain which is connected with the memory function) or on the point between the eyebrows helps to activate the brain and develop memory power.

Having moderate diet, exercise & rest helps one to have better memory. Smoking or drinking too much speed up memory decline. Having a positive attitude and stimulating environment encourages better memory.

What are the effects of ageing on memory?

Researchers  suspect that ageing causes major cell loss in the frontal lobes that leads to a drop in the production of a neurotransmitter(a chemical) called Acetylcholine which is important for learning and memory. Hippocampus loses 5% of its neurons with each passing decade. Moreover brain itself shrinks and becomes less efficient as you age. However doing yogasanas, pranayama and meditation regularly will help in having efficient memory even at the old age.


References for this post(courtesy) :
1.http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/human-memory.htm
2.http://www.medindia.net/yoga-lifestyle/memory-print.htm
3.Tattvabodha commentary by Swami Tejomayananda

SIRSASANA

In Sanskrit, sirsa or sirha means "head". Hence this asana is called 'the pose of the head' or simply " the headstand".

This is the king of all asanas. All the glands in the body are activated at the same time, protecting us from diseases. Our thinking power, memory power, and virility are enhanced greatly. Cures constipation, vision impairment, and nerves disorder.

When we are born, normally the head comes out first and then the other parts of our body. The head is the centre of sattvic qualities which control discrimination. Regular practice of this asana makes healthy pure blood flow through the brain cells. Thinking power increases and thoughts become clearer. Those who are involved in brain work would find this asana very useful. This asana activates the pituitary and pineal glands. Our growth, health and vitality depend on the proper functioning of these two glands.Our face acquires a beautiful glow. Even this asana is done for just 2 minutes a day, results are great. Body becomes flexible.

People suffering from loss of sleep, memory and vitality have recovered by the regular and correct practice of Sirsasana. The lungs gain the power to resist any climate. Regular practice of this asana will show marked improvement in the haemoglobin content of the blood.

During this asana, the excess of vital(sexual) energy is sublimated to superior levels of being(higher chakras). When perfectly done, this process awakens and raises the kundalini sakhthi. Hence Sirsasana has a remarkable rejuvenating effect.

Technique: The first step in sirsasana is to do ardha sirsasana(half-headstand). It is very important that the head sits on the floor at the hairline area. It is 100% recommended to learn this asana from a Guru and this pose cannot and should not be learned from books or videos. It is absolutely forbidden to perform this asana while supporting on the top of the head. Please see the Video in this blog for details. It is necessary to put strength in your arms and neck. In the final position the weight of the body is supported half on the elbows and half on the head, and not 100% on the head. After you come back from the posture, please keep your head down(as shown in the video) for a couple of minutes to allow the normalisation of the blood circulation. Begin this asana with only one minute and the duration can be increased gradually. In the beginning, it is strongly recommended to perform the pose very close to a wall or a corner, to prevent any accidental fall.

Note: Persons who suffered from strokes and/or suffer from very high and/or very low blood-pressure,and suffering acute sinusitis, conjunctivitis, glaucoma,  will not practice this asana. If this pose brings about immediately a violent headache which worsens at every new attempt, the practice should be stopped.

Even though it is difficult initially to practice this asana, there is hardly any ailment which cannot be cured by its performance. It combines all the beneficial effects of the 84 classical asanas. This asana is very useful in keeping brahmacharya and in generating ojas shakthi. Maintains the youth of the body, the complexion becomes fresh, the eyes sparkle and become magnetic, and the entire being reflects health, vigour & vitality. The greying of the hair can be stopped or reversed, even at an advanced age. Also the falling of the hair can be stopped, and with steady practice it can even made to grow again on the bald areas.

Regular and correct practice of this pose develops the body, disciplines the mind and widens the horizons of the spirit. We become balanced and self-reliant in all dualities(pain and pleasure, loss and gain, shame and fame and defeat and victory).