MyLifeYoga

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us;
It’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Credits: This is a poem by Marianne Williamson. It is quoted from her book A return to love. Please note that this has been widely misquoted as being part of Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech.

Here is an astonishing finding: A few minutes of simple but special exercise can supercharge your brain! This not only helps young school going kids but works wonders for adults too. As we age we need to take special care of our brains. This simple exercise can be one tool we can all use! Please like and share this to pass it on!

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When news anchor Jennifer Livingston got a nasty e-mail about her weight she first tried to laugh it off. But her husband would have none of it and posted it on Facebook. The response from the community was overwhelming. So much so that she says in this video, “The words of one were nothing compared to the shouts of many.”

Jennifer is using this as an example of how we must fight against bullying. She says, “We must teach our children to be kind, not critical. And we have to do so by example.” Bullying in schools and outside has become a growing problem with the “Internet being used as a weapon”. Let us all be alert to harm our words can do. Please watch and share this post to pass the word around.

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Yoga is ultimately about meditation. And meditation is about silencing our thoughts. However it is simply not possible to suddenly and magically gain control over our thoughts. This is why yoga is an eight-fold path that unfolds in a progressive transformation of our mind-body system. This transformation allows increasing ability to silence our thoughts.

One of the eight limbs of the eight limbs of yoga is Pratyahara. This translates to: “Do not feed the senses”. Pratyahara asks us to practice restraint in our lives so that mind is not constantly engrossed in thoughts related to pleasure (or pain) arising from senses.

Pratyahara is an underappreciated limb of the eight limbs of yoga, but this should not deter us from understanding its importance:

1. Pratyahara is the bridge to meditation.
If the objective is to have a calm lake with no ripples on the surface, then it makes sense that we desist throwing stones in it. Pratyahara works similarly. If we want to have a silent mind with no thoughts rippling through then we must stop throwing stones of sensory pleasure (or pain) into our minds.

2. Pratyahara is achieved progressively.
It is not possible to suddenly disengage from the sensory world. Forcing the issue can only backfire. There is both a push and a pull involved. We must nudge ourselves gently in this direction, and the progress we make with the other 7 limbs of yoga will also pull us along. Pratyahara is not escapism, rather it is the gentle raising of consciousness to disengage from the sensory world and be in awareness of the true Self.

3. Meditation aids Pratyahara. Continue reading →