Loading ...Kapalbhati – Polish Your Skull
A great boon to the practice of yoga is the positive effect that is has on the mind-body, allowing us to better overcome extreme emotion and stress. The breathing techniques used in yogic practice are naturally soothing and calming; the cleansing breath, or kapalbhati in Sanskrit, is used exclusively for this purpose.
Kapalbhati means literally to “polish the skull” in its original Sanskrit, giving a pointed suggestion as to its purpose. Using this breathing technique to cleanse and detox your busy mind, you will find almost instantly that its effects are great and wondrous.
Performing kapalbhati is technically quite easy, though it is important that it is performed correctly in order to obtain the best results. Follow these basic instructions as you prepare to practice:
Take a seat in any position that keeps your spine erect and your body relaxed; I personally find the cross-legged and vajrasana positions have the most beneficial effect. Relax yourself and breathe deeply, closing your eyes and feeling the movement of the breath as you clear your mind. Once you feel fully composed, begin to exercise the diaphragm by exhaling your breath quickly through the nostrils, allowing the in and out of your breathing to remain natural and easy. A general rule of thumb for the beginner is to practice each type of breathing for about seven cycles, allowing the body to gradually warm up to the process. Be aware of the breath deep in your belly and use the upper chest as little as possible.
If you find your breath becoming ragged or broken at any time during the practice, take a break and compose yourself again; the benefits of kapalbhati will not be felt if the body is not relaxed.
What are some of the obvious benefits of kapalbhati?
The powerful breath created in this practice leads to great energy, cleaning and purifying the nasal passage, throat and lungs. The effects on the mind are immediate; relaxation replaces worry, clearness replaces clutter, calmness replaces stress.
Regular and increased practice will help you to maintain these benefits even outside of your practice, allowing you to go through your daily life with the same serenity and clearness of mind that you feel while in seated meditation.
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Stop Following Me!
Child’s Pose
If you know someone who practices yoga regularly and ask them what their favorite pose or posture is, there is a good chance that they will cite the child’s pose. Seen in the picture below, this position is simple and relaxing, stretching your physical body while clearing and relieving the mind body. Here are a few facts about the benefits of this particular pose:
Physical Benefits
The child’s pose stretches the back, sides, legs and arms very gently, allowing your body to feel fully relaxed while it is working. Take care to place something beneath your knees if you are on a hard surface, and it sometimes helps to manually pull the flesh away from the sitting bones so that your bottom rests more comfortably on your legs.
Mental Benefits
You would be hard-pressed to find a yoga posture as mentally relaxing as the child’s pose. Even while your body is gently stretching, your head is down and your eyes are closed. This allows for light meditation or simple relaxation of the mind, bringing with it increased clarity and potential for insight.
Spiritual Benefits
Whether you subscribe to a monotheistic religion, a doctrinal guide such as Buddhism or simply acknowledge your spirituality on a more personal level, the intense relaxation and quiet time can do wonders for the mind body, and thus the spirit. Use the time spent in child’s pose to reflect on your true nature and to nourish the spirit, waking it up and enlivening it with your attentions.
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Total Lunar Eclipse – February 20, 2008
The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 occurred tonight, giving skywatchers all over the world (including myself) an easy opportunity to observe heavenly bodies interacting with one another. It was difficult to get a decent picture of it (I’m not great with a camera) but I did manage to snap one decent picture out of the bunch; click the thumbnail for the full image (728KB).
A very cool thing to have witnessed, very humbling when you consider the enormity of the Earth as its shadow creeps over the moon. Happy observing!
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Religion = Sickness
We kill for it, we dedicate our lives to it, we judge others based on it, we go to war for it and we allow it to consume us to the point of true “faith”, but at the end of the day, religion (see “God”) is a sickness.
I was born to a technically Christian mother and guided by a very Christian grandmother. I attended church services and Sunday school sporadically within the Protestant sect and was baptized by the same at the age of eight. Until I was 15, I was technically a Christian; than I started to think. The next six years of my life were dedicated in part to my clutching at a greater understanding of religion and the role it played in my life and I pored over the Bible and many other religious texts in search of an answer to the most important question I had ever asked myself to that point: why doesn’t any of this make any sense?
At the age of 20 I finally decided that I must be an atheist; I could see nothing sensible in the Bible or any other religious text and my conclusion was that, if the only god being presented to me were one of the major religious cults that I was familiar with (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc), than there could simply be no god. My understanding of the nature of the universe was non-existent, but I was intelligent enough to realize that I should no sooner put my faith into the Bible than into any other badly written and badly researched historical text. The Bible and related books seemed to me to be nothing more than a terribly inaccurate account of the world and its creation.
I quickly realized, however, that atheism didn’t make any more sense than organized religion. Certainly something created the universe, something outside of time and space as we understand it to exist; surely there was a god after all! I made an official switch to agnosticism and it was the smartest and most beneficial move that my mind has ever made. I discovered Buddhism and the ancient teachings of intelligent and thoughtful men who came before me and made these same discoveries and I combined those teachings with my decided view of agnosticism in order to shape a philosophy of life that made sense to me.
I have to admit that, following my complete realization of the falsity of Christianity, I began to hate the religion furiously. I railed against the belief, the dogma, the people. I looked around and saw so many people who believed what seemed to me to be absolute foolishness and I lost a great deal of faith in humanity in general. It took me nearly five years to balance my view of religion with a general sense of faith in people in general. I learned to have compassion for those with such beliefs because I learned to understand and have empathy for the causes.
People are afraid of life. At one time or another all clearly thinking people should be afraid of life! We are dropped in the middle of this vast universe with no knowledge of how we got here, what we’re supposed to do or where we’re going. In viewing people with religious beliefs through a compassionate lens, I was able to understand the need for the creation of myths and religion. From the worship of the sun and moon to the worship of a potentially historical figure named Jesus, it has simply been the natural human tendency to make efforts to explain away the things that we fear due to our lack of understanding.
Christianity, while often well-intentioned in its doctrine, is a horrible delusion. It causes people who might otherwise have a huge impact on rational and philosophical thought through the humility of admitting that they cannot understand everything to instead believe that they know everything. This idea of one person or group knowing more than another person or group lead to the brainwashing and mass murder of the Crusades to the jihads and holy wars that the human race continues to fight today.
Monotheistic belief is simply the greatest single obstacle to the natural evolution of the mind facing humanity today. Science and technology are allowing us to understand more and more about our universe and its creation and there is a necessity for an open, humble mind as we analyze the results of our explorations and experiments.
The belief in any doctrine, Christianity included, is akin to a virus in your mind. It restricts rational thinking, negates humility and is the greatest source of judgment and bloodshed in the history of our race. If you believe in a monotheistic “God” or any other man-made myth in order to better understand life and your place in it, you are pulling the wool over your own eyes.
There is most definitely a god of some kind, though I use the word loosely. I am of the personal belief that, simply put, everything is everything. The source of creation and consciousness exists within every person, every object, every piece of time and to look anywhere but within for spiritual guidance is a waste of time. Similarly, depending on a mythological belief to help to explain the world, creation or anything else is an equal waste of time.
Look within yourself for god in the form of consciousness. Let go of the idea of a soul, heaven, hell and most importantly, let go of the idea that you know anymore than anyone else. Look outside of yourself, towards the tools that science offers us, for answers as to creation and physical existence.
We’re all in the same boat, wading through life together. Humankind has subscribed to thousands of different faiths and beliefs but there is only one truth for us, today: we just don’t know. We need to stop grasping at the crutch of false answers and instead greet these mysteries with open eyes and study and an acceptance of what we do know of ourselves. Monotheistic belief is a virus of delusion and stupidity; luckily, it is the easiest virus in the world to rid yourself of!
photo by Quiplash!
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6 Wonderful Reasons to Drink Green Tea
While some forms of green tea are definitely an acquired taste, there are many that are as good for the taste buds as they are for your body. Every time we hear green tea mentioned it’s followed with an exclamation how very good it is for your body. The benefits are numerous and the impact that the consumption of green tea has on the body is nothing short of amazing. Here are six great reasons to brew a cup of green tea today!
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It Tastes Great!
Yes, you heard me right. Commercialism has been a big boon to green tea in that there are now literally hundreds of flavors and mixtures available on the market; if you try one and dislike the taste, there are always many more to choose from. My personal favorite at the moment is the flavor Honey Lemon Ginseng from a company called Celestial Seasonings, available in all major grocery stores in North America.
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Reduce the Risk of Cancer
Green tea is chalk-full of antioxidants in the form of polyphenols and several kinds of these polyphenols have a direct effect on cells when they threaten to become cancerous, keeping them from gaining the foothold in your body that they need to expand. Countless scientific studies have shown that people who drink green tea regularly drastically reduce their risk of breast, colon, prostate, lung and stomach cancers.
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Lose Weight
While the effect is minimal, components found in green tea actually help your body to speed up the calorie-burning process. You won’t lose drastic amounts of weight but every little bit counts when you are trying to counteract the effects of unhealthy eating or lack of exercise.
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Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure
Many of us struggle to keep our blood pressure to a reasonable level, reaching our goal and than finding the number jumping, seemingly at will. The same polyphenols that help to reduce the risk of cancer are at play here, keeping blood vessels from contracting and allowing a healthy amount of blood flow at all times. There are many factors to consider if you have high blood pressure, diet especially, but green tea is a great tool to add to your arsenal!
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Keep Your Memories
As we age, the risk of free-radical damage being done to our brain nerves increases dramatically, putting us at risk of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The huge punch of antioxidants that green tea packs has a direct effect on this damage; studies have shown that aging adults who consume two cups or more per day reduce their risk by up to 50%!
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Save Your Leftovers!
Green tea is at its best when it is inside you but it has amazing effects on the outside too! When applied to cuts and scrapes green tea acts as an antiseptic, helping to relieve swelling and itching and encouraging faster healing. Studies have also shown that green tea has a direct effect on the negative effects of sunlight on our skin, reducing the risk of burn when applied to the skin and sun-induced cancer of the skin when consumed.
In summation: drink green tea. Even if you don’t love your first cup, you have to admit to yourself that it is simply too cheap and easy a way to stay healthy to pass up. Explore flavors, find one you like, and live longer – just like that!
photo by mat.teo
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6 Easy Ways to Practice Meditation
Meditation is a wonderful practice whose undertaking can result in unmatched peace, spiritual growth and the creation of organic mindfulness and compassion. So why doesn’t everyone meditate? One of the most prominent reasons that people cite is that sitting cross-legged on the floor is neither comfortable nor feasible considering the busy lives that many of us lead. Lucky for all of us, meditation most definitely does not require one to sit on the floor or in any other particular position. Here are six easy ways to meditate, none of them placing you on the hardwood:
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Walking Meditation
One of my favorite ways to relax and reconnect with nature and spirit is through walking meditation. Keep a slow, easy pace and focus your mind inward. Continue to contemplate the things you see, being mindful of every step, every sound, every sight and every thought and use the peaceful position of your mind to look inward at the same time. A 10 minute walk performed in this manner will help you to feel more relaxed and can result in beautiful insight as well.
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In Bed
Another great way for the busy folks among us to meditate is to do so while lying comfortably in bed. Wait for the kids to hit the sack and your partner to settle in if necessary and than stretch out on your back, close your eyes, and let your mind’s eye drift inwards. If sleep overtakes you, consider the practice a success in allowing your body to fall to rest more easily. If you are able to lie awake for 10 or 15 minutes, spend the time simply emptying your mind of concerns and worries and focus on the current moment instead, observing your mind and thoughts.
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In a Chair
One of the main reasons that so many of us choose to practice seated meditation is the natural effect that the position itself has on the body, lengthening the spine and allow our body to settle. Many people suffer physically in this position because of the knots in their body, their body shape or constant discomfort that makes it difficult to relax and focus. Using a comfortable chair to sit upright is an easy way to mimic the benefits of seated meditation while avoiding the discomfort of a hard floor.
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Utilize Nature
If you have an hour for lunch, spend half of it resting your bottom on a grassy knoll or beneath a tree, utilizing the many physical comforts found naturally every where we go. You can lie in the grass beneath the sun, rest your back against a strong tree or sit cross-legged on the bank of a river or on a beach; mindfulness and inward focus are the keys and these positions all make that possible.
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Yogic Mindfulness
Practicing yoga on a regular basis is much easier than committing to a meditative practice for many people and, if you are one of those folks, you can simply combine the two! The smooth, flowing movements of yoga naturally lead to a more peaceful and relaxed mind and you can utilize that relaxation by turning your mind inward while you practice. Focus solely on your yogi breath; allow yourself to be compelled to sit and continue meditation if you feel the urge!
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Grab a Cushion!
The most important early discovery that the Buddha made was that denying the body what it requires is tantamount to sabotaging the path to awakening. He chose instead the middle way, a path of moderation without indulgence. While some schools of thought encourage practitioners to sit on a hard floor (some monks sleep on beds of nails as well), it is absolutely alright to give your body a higher level of comfort while you meditate. If you’ve sat in meditative position on a hard floor and given up, try the same position again, this time with a pillow under your bum; the difference will amaze you and potentially rekindle your desire to increase mindfulness through seated meditation.
photo by Give a Dam
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Beware of Falling Space Junk
The space age began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviets successfully launched the first artificial satellite, the Sputnik I, into space. Since that day 51 years ago over 25,000 man-made objects have been launched into space; around 8600 are currently in Earth’s orbit while there are another 16,000 in various states of decay.
So what happens when we leave our garbage to simply orbit the Earth? Space junk happens. Current estimates put the amount of garbage currently orbiting the Earth in the realm of a combined 2200 tons, all of it flying around our planet at incredible speeds. The following map gives you a good indication of the amount of space junk surrounding us and where it came from:
1. Russian space debris
2. Geosynchronous satellites
3. Various junk from scientific missions
4. Global space junk (except Russia)
5. Junk expected to reenter Earth’s orbit soon
Despite the fact that we can’t see it and most of us have no idea it exists, as the maps shows, there is actually a tremendous amount of leftover junk in our orbit just waiting to fall.
Should We Worry?
The danger lies more with the shuttles and satellites that regularly leave Earth on further missions to the International Space Station and beyond; one recorded impact between a space shuttle and a particle of space debris only one tenth of a millimeter wide resulted in a cracked window in the shuttle. Cosmologists have learned to time the launch of a shuttle or satellite to coincide with breaks in the space junk in our orbit, allowing missions to take place with little or no danger from the debris.
The danger to us here on Earth is, surprisingly, nearly non-existent. Space junk does fall back into orbit on a regular basis, but the extreme speed and temperatures involved in re-entering our planet’s orbit cause the debris to burn into nothingness. There are some exceptions to this rule, including an artificial satellite the size of a large bus that is currently speeding towards Earth while carrying over 1,000 pounds of toxic fuel. Scientists all over the world are currently devising a plan to shoot the satellite down before it enters Earth’s orbit.
A few more local space maps with space junk simulation in a few for your reference:
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