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A Brief Look At The History Of Yoga

September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When I took up the practice of yoga, I never even considered learning about the history of yoga.  I really just considered yoga a simple way of promoting great physical health and nothing more. But, somewhere along the way the practice of yoga turned into part of my spiritual growth more than it was part of my exercise  program.   I’ve recently found myself without easy access to a yoga studio.  So, I’ve been researching different poses on YouTube and reading all that I can.

It is definitely unjust to consider yoga a simple way of promoting great physical health and nothing more. The practice of yoga takes spiritual growth as the ultimate goal, and its roots go back five thousand years BC.

Starting from the Indus Valley, the history of yoga includes a whole set of practices that have been passed on to this day. I”m pretty sure many of my teachers were mumbling something or another about all of this in class, but I was more focused on my breath, and not falling on my face to really comprehend what they were saying.

The original intent of practicing yoga was to initiate spiritual growth; the practitioner has to constantly work to achieve the union of the limited and transitory self with its eternal dimension known as Brahman. The original intent for me beginning a practice was to be able to touch my toes.  Since I’ve been off the mat for nearly a year and half now I can’t touch my toes, but my awareness and yearning to achieve Union has stayed with me.  I learned to breathe deeply and accept myself more fully in a Yoga Studio in Venice, California without ever considering a lesson in history.

According to the history of yoga, by Brahman we imply God as the eternal omnipresence that is inherent to all aspects of reality. The principles found in yoga history are definitely quite apart from Christian tradition. If man’s main issue and fault is sin in the Christian approach, according to yoga doctrine, ignorance is the one that causes human frailty and failure.  The study of the history of yoga relies on the teachings found in the Vedas, a compilation of three-thousand-year old texts.

The practice of yoga has progressed over time through stages; vedic stage followed by the pre-classic, classic and post-classic variants, and finally we look around today and observe the myriad of styles and practices. Each of stage throughout the history of yoga has brought something new in terms of the way the human being is regarded in relation to the world and the self, yet the central teachings remain unmodified.

More than thirty million people practice yoga on a daily basis, and we can see new attitudes towards spirituality, life style, health and society are coming into the mainstream way of thinking.

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Anger: Use It to Lose It!

September 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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Most of my life it has been very easy for me to express anger. After years of working on myself through studying and testing different self-improvement techniques I realized I use anger as a way of controlling others.

I’ve taken a deeper look at what triggers my anger and began to learn from it rather than be at the mercy of it.

I’ve learned that my anger comes from a fearful adolescent place within….. from the part of me that fears being wrong, rejected, abandoned, or controlled by others.  I never really learned a healthy way to process my feelings until a few years ago, and often I have been left feeling frustrated.  Part of me fears failure, embarrassment, disrespect, and helplessness. When these fearful feelings are triggered, I turn into a big adolescent, and my actions usually reflect it.  Because I don’t want to feel helpless, I often project my anger towards other people in my attempt to control a situation.  It’s as if I am blaming the other people or the environment for my feelings of inadequacy.  Any time I feel this, I’ve learned that in some way I am not taking care of myself.  I am not taking responsibility for our my feelings and needs, and I am not taking time out of my day to connect with my inner source of joy and happiness.  When I don’t take care of myself, I tend to blame other people for my feelings in an attempt to intimidate another to change their behavior so that Iwill feel safe, and secure. 

I’m usually not triggered into acting from a place of anger except when I am tending bar, it’s 1am and people are drunk, screaming at me, and snapping their fingers.  I’ve been working very hard to let go of the need for control.

Anger has created many problems in relationships past and present.  I’ve been taking responsibility for my own feelings for quite a few years now.  I learned from one of my past romantic relationships that I had been blaming everyone for my feelings.  I had been essentially giving away my power by doing so.

Nobody likes being blamed for another’s feelings. No one wants to be intimidated into taking responsibility for another’s needs. Blaming anger may generate blaming anger or resistance in the other person, which results in a power struggle. I’ve been experiencing this one lately at work.

I have discovered that my anger at another person or situation has much to teach me. I can use the frustration that is triggered in me to learn what it is I am really feeling and that gives me an idea of what I need to give to myself.  Sometimes life moves forward and I get distracted; I forget to use the techniques I wrote about in It’s All About Me! A Sou Surfer’s Guide to Happiness Through the Mastery of Self.  But, I never forget for too long.  I’ve made the commitment to be Love always, and it’s my highest of priorities.

As part of the Soul Surfing Lesson I teach, I offer wide variety of tools many of which I touch on in the book.  Below is a three-part anger process that I use to move me out of feeling like a frustrated victim and into a sense of personal power.  I’ll be testing this out over the weekend.

This is great way to release anger, as well as to discover the real source of the anger.  Remember, you’re talking to the It’s All About Me! guy, so please understand that YOU are the source of all of your feelings and anger is usually a bi-product of deeper feelings of a scared little boy or girl.

To really let go of anger you have to want to understand and heal the real source of it. If you just want to use your anger to blame, control and justify your position, you will stay stuck in your anger. This process will get you to stop being such a victim and help you live with an open heart.

Obviously you’ll be doing the following exercises alone and in a safe place.

1. Hold an image of the person or situations that trigger your anger. Allow the little kid inside you to let out everything you want to say in detail. Unleash your rage, pain and resentment until you have nothing more to say. Scream, punch a pillow, roll up a towel and beat the bed. (The reason you don’t tell the person directly is because this kind of cathartic, no-holds-barred “anger dump” would be abusive to them.)

2. Now scour the timeline of your past (for more info on the timeline check out my book by clicking here).  Often times when I am angry at someone today they have similar qualities to someone from my past.  When that is the case, the person in the present gets a double dose of anger from me.

Once you connect the present to the past, let your wounded self yell at the person from the past as thoroughly and energetically as in part one.  Let it all out.

3. After I’m done yelling, screaming and punching someone from 15-20 years ago, I come back into the present and let my angry wounded self do the same thing with me (It’s All About Me!).  You see, I’ve never really experienced anything happening to me that I in fact don’t actually do to myself.  I never treat anyone more harshly than I treat myself, and no one ever acts towards me in a manner that I don’t in fact act towards myself.  When I find myself realizing my own part in a situation, I can be pretty hard on myself.  I know the result of abuse, and I can’t stand it when I realize that I am in fact being abusive towards another person. I have to let out that anger as well, and then work towards forgiving myself, the past and the people in the present situation.

The above is one way I have learned to take personal responsibility.  Doing so opens the door to exploring my behaviors more fully, and thus modifying them in a way that is more reflective of who it is I want to be in this lifetime.

Whenever anger or any other negative emotion comes up, you always have the choice to control or to learn.  If you would like to know more about my process of personal development (Soul Surfing) click on the picture below.

Filed Under: Emotional Intelligence Tagged With: , , , ,

Habits of Happy People – Self Help – Coaching

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

21313073356_4320057870-d4cd50e584.jpgHang out with joyful people

Psychologist John Gottman says that in order to consider a relationship a positive one, we need five positive interactions for every negative one. The point: Surround yourself with people who support and encourage you, and give a wide berth to those who criticize and deplete you.

Move consistently towards your Goals

Make commitments – and then make a point of keeping your word. ‘The greatest dreams will not be accomplished without discipline and daily effort – and that process brings joy,’ says the Reverend A.R Bernard, pastor of New York’s Christian Cultural Center. ‘It’s about doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well.’

Meditate on your Blessings

End each day by recalling three moments that made you feel truly grateful – anything from a gorgeous sunrise to the smile of a loved one. Practice sitting in quiet contemplation or prayer, says Burton, who is also the author of Listen to your Life. Then keep track of your blessings in a gratitude journal.

Be good to Yourself

Eat nourishing food and get six to eight hours of sleep every night.

Connect with Others

Be intentional about building strong bonds with other people. ‘Your social relationships are a powerful predictor of happiness, much more so than money,’ writes Daniel Gilbert in his book Stumbling on Happiness. Indeed, a 2002 University of Illinois study showed that participants who reported the highest level of happiness also reported the strongest ties to friends and family.

Go to church – any Church

A 2006 Pew Research report revealed that those who attend weekly services – of any faith – indicate that they feel much happier than those who attend once a month or less.

Give and Forgive

Holding on to resentment and anger is an emotional weight that robs you of your joy. Just let it go. ‘Happiness is spiritual peace – peace with God, with yourself and with others,’ explains Bernard. And while you’re handing out pardons, give away a few other things, too: Generosity makes us feel as if we’re making a difference by creating an environment of connection and love.

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How to Make Someone Feel Loved

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

01313070889_whentwopeoplefallinlove.jpgTo make someone feel loved, you need to understand the languages of love. There are 5 languages of love according to studies. The object of your affection usually responds to the language that appeals to him or her the most. They will come to believe that you truly love them once they see you do one or a couple of these things:

1. Spending time – this is the first language of love. To make someone feel loved, you need to spend time with them. Some people respond well to you thru this way. They can easily understand your love language if you find the time to be with them. It is not necessarily the quantity of time but quality time. Quality time is spending time with the loved ones, even just a few minutes a day, affirming your love to them by words or actions or even sharing comfortable silence. Indeed, silence could speak volumes. Show your love by making them feel loved every time you spend with them and they will love you all the more for it.
2. Service – this is the second language of love. To make someone feel loved thru service it is not necessary to do over-the-top, grand kind of service. Service is simply helping a loved one. It could be carrying the luggages for her or him. The shopping bags. Running errands. Picking up the laundry on the way home. Opening the door. Making a cup of coffee. Anything, even the simplest things that make life a bit comfortable for him or her. Some people appreciate these more than diamonds or other expensive things. So don’t forget service as a way of expressing love.
3. Physical touch – third language of love. Your loved one could be the kind who loves holding hands, kissing, touching the arm, hugging, etc., etc. The etcs. mean I am giving you room to be creative. Let’s face it touch is one of the most basic love language. Who doesn’t want to be hugged or kissed or to hold hands with someone? But some people want it more or at a higher degree than others. So if your loved one prefers physical touch as an expression of love, it doesnt hurt to hug or kiss her/him everyday.
4. Communication – they say communication is the lifeblood of every relationship. It’s true. It can either create havoc or bliss on your relationships. Some of our loved ones prefer communication as a way of demonstrating our love to them. They love to hear ‘ i love you’ or be told that they are beautiful or that you love them just the way they are. A few words from you could feed their hunger for love. So, communicate LOVE. Say it. Don’t let the person go on guessing. They might not respond to actions or gifts. But simple ‘ i love you’ could do the trick!
5. Giving gifts – to make someone feel loved it is sometimes essential to give gifts. Some people’s love language is receiving gifts. Gifts need not be expensive. Anything you give them is highly appreciated as long as it comes from the heart. If this is the language of the one you love, then it will be a good idea to shower her/him with gifts daily. Surprise your loved one with small packages put in her closet or in the car.

Filed Under: Love Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Priority Relationships

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_21311886727_hearts-background-5.jpgThe most important relationship you experience is the one you have with Yourself. Your many parts comprise the while that is you.
Your intuition is the most powerful part of you. Your intuition, like your Little Voice, comes to you as a little voice in your head.
So, how can you tell the difference between the Little Voice that tries to keep you the same-tries to keep you from making changes – and your intuition which is, by the way, your soul, your Spirit speaking directly to You. How do you know which voice is which?
It is pretty simple actually. Ask a question. The Little Voice will go on and on and on and carry on a whole conversation with you-anything to distract you and keep you from doing whatever it is you want to do, right? On the other hand, if you ask a question to the voice that is your intuition, you won’t get a reply at all.
Your intuition gives you a message that is always in your highest and best interest.

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Law of Attraction – Love and Relationships

Most of the time when you hear of the Law of Attraction it is in the context of making money and attracting cars and houses and things of a more material nature. The Law of Attraction can be used to manifest ANYTHING that you desire. This includes attracting love and relationships and even friendships that make you feel joy and happiness. Building Trust Relationships in Families

There are many reasons why families fight, but at the very core of all the issues is a lack of trust. Building trust in relationships is integral to keeping your family calm and conflict free. Once you are able to build trust, you can move on to grow in all aspects of your life. Can NLP Hurt Your Relationships?

NLP opens us up to new ways of thinking and opens up our opportunities. But what immediate impact does it have on relationships? Does NLP hurt your ability to communicate with your partner when you get back home and use it in the real world? Tips for De-Stressing Relationships

Relationship Stress is caused by one thing, not feeling in control.  Five ways to increase control and decrease the stress in relationships include: taking responsibility for you, letting go of controlling the other, taking charge of your position, communicating from knowing yourself and requesting clarification from the other.You might call it your gut feeling. Always follow your gut feelings because those messages are always, always, always in your highest and best interest-coming directly from your Soul. Just do it, whether or not it makes any sense at all.
If it tells you to get off the highway at the next exit, then get off the highway at the next exit. Further down the road there is gong to be an accident and you avoided getting in the accident because you got off the highway – when your intuition said to. Or, maybe your intuition told you to get off at the next exit because there is someone you need to meet who will get to the same gas station as you at precisely the moment you arrive.
How many times have you had a gut feeling then ignored it, and later wished you had paid attention, and followed through with that behavior? How many times will you continue to make that same kind of mistake?
Remember, when the voice speaks and you have no clue why it tells you to do something that may not make any sense to you at the time-ask it a question. If you get an answer, or even a discussion, then ignore that feeling. But, if no answer comes forth-take that action.

Filed Under: Relationships Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inspirational People

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

11313073289_yellowstone034.jpgWe have all heard stories of amazing people who have overcome incredible odds in order to reach their goals. We read and hear about these people an are usually in awe. Many of us will become inspired enough to start taking action in order to change our lives while others will just see these stories as something that occurred because of luck. What many people don’t realize is that although these inspirational people have achieved a lot in their lives, they also had to go through many setbacks and challenges.
It’s easy to look hear stories like this and write it off as luck but if you look closely at what these people had to go through, you will come to the realization that for the most part, these people weren’t lucky, they just wanted their dream more than most people. One the the areas that we see these types of stories most often is in sports.
When we hear about Lance Armstrong overcoming cancer and going on the win 7 Tour de France title in a row or Michael Jordan failing to make the basketball team during his first year trying out but end up being one of the greatest basketball players of all time, what we don’t see is the hours of hard training they had to go through each and everyday.
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Inspirational quotes for team building

Needless to say the vital role of inspirational quotes in team building sessions. Here are some constructive quotes for team leaders to strengthen the team spirit. The Power Of Inspirational Bracelets And Necklaces

You always perform based on your self-image. Your self-image is made up of the messages that you feed into your mind. Thus it is important what kind of messages you are wearing on your wrist or around your neck. Wearing bracelets with powerful quotations you’ll feed your mind with success images. How Inspirational Sayings Can Inspire People Around You

Inspirational sayings are the main source for posters and greeting card industries. You can also hear these inspirational sayings in political speeches. Most of the academic lectures also have these inspirational sayings in them to motivate the audience and achieve goals. Even though these inspirational sayings are made up of few words, they can have a huge impact on the lives of people who read them or listen to them. Inspirational Sayings and Famous Proverbs

Inspirational sayings are one of the best ways in which you can keep your spirits high and get motivation every time that you go through them. No matter what your goal is in life, to be a successful person, to do well in your exams or to achieve a daily target an inspirational saying can uplift your enthusiasm and help you work towards your goal.It’s easy to miss this fact. It almost seems that they just woke up one day and became champions sometimes.
We you start to realize that nothing great comes easy and accept the fact that it’s only when you desire something and work harder than anyone else that you will achieve your dreams, you will see that luck has very little to do with winning in life. So how do you become an inspiration person yourself? By committing to not give up on your dreams.
There are far too many stories of people failing to live the life they have always dreamed of. By committing to becoming another example of an inspirational person, you can inspire those around you because when they see that someone they know can achieve their dreams, it will create a greater belief in themselves. Since they will see your hard work, they are less likely to write it off as luck.
We need more and more stories of inspirational people. We can never have too many of them. Do what you can to achieve your dreams because your story could very well change someone’s life.

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Keep a Healthy Relationship

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

01313069726_healthy-relationships.jpgStep 1
NEVER GO TO BED ANGRY! This seems like a difficult request because it is such a simple concept. It is generally not healthy to “sleep on it” all the time. If there is an issue between you and your partner it is best to address it to avoid bottling things up.
Step 2
Do not point out each others flaws in front of family and friends, it only makes the situation worse.
Step 3
Consider the possibility that you might be contributing to an issue or problem. Do not be so quick to point the finger if you have not reflected on your own behavior.
Step 4
Be patient when listening to your partner and let them know that you want to hear their concerns because you value their happiness.
Step 5
Think before you speak. If you speak without thinking first, it might cause a misunderstanding that could amplify a problem.

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How to Make Someone Fall in Love

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_11311885922_dsc05296.jpgOk, we all know the basics of how to make someone like us: we have to look good, be well groomed, well dressed, pleasant in conversation. We must be clever- this is very important, because if we are not clever nothing else will work long enough. Here is a person in front of you whom you like very much and want to be around, what can you do to make it work, to make it beautiful, interesting?

Take a mental inventory of a person you are trying to impress/ make fall in love with you. Pay attention to their clothes, their words, their body language, their actions. What kind of person is he/she? What do they want? What is missing in their life? The more detailed is your answer the better chances you have of making them fall in love. Know who you are dealing with before engaging in any kind of relationship. The information about who the person really is will not present itself unless you learn to observe and listen, let others talk and act, your job is to sit back, listen, watch and filter the information until you get a precise picture of what is going on and who is the person in front of you. The most important question you must answer: Is the person I am trying to impress/make fall in love cleverer than I am? I am not talking about the college education, or scientific background, I am talking about how transparent you are to the other person, how well they can read you, and how well they can use you without you knowing it. If you establish they are cleverer than you, which by the way very few of us can successfully do, your best bet is to stay away from them, you are just a lamb trying to get a wolf’s attention. You must find someone on your intelligence level or below.You should never attempt to seduce someone cleverer than you, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage, but what if you misperceived someone’s intelligence level and took someone cleverer than you for someone who is not? I’m sorry to say- you are going down. You have an impossible challenge in front of you- to impress someone, to offer useful, clever information, insight they don’t possess, offer them on a silver platter something they have never realized- in other words dazzle them with your wit and prospects. As you go about your business impressing them with your stupidity, you will be inadvertently tipping them off on how they can use you, not necessarily for sex, then easily dispose of you, and you will never see it coming. You must learn to read people, you must gauge correctly their level of intelligence. You have to play the game, you must make it interesting for them. You must have something to offer and it must be better than that offered by others.

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Being Single – Happy People Attract Others – Relationships – Sexuality

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

01313073290_nushi-and-erin.jpgBeing single and loving it will attract others to you. So how do you create a happy you and bag a great relationship in the process?The key is to focus on what makes you happy when you do this you will have one result. You will be happy. Happiness is a choice! Lets try a quick experiment. Think of something that makes you sad and what do you get? Now focus on something that made you laugh out loud and now what do you get? Spend 30 seconds on each. Try it now before you read on……..

If you did this you will have created for two different sets of emotions purely based on thought. It’s impossible to have a happy thought at the same time as a sad one. So your goal is to focus on what makes you consistently happy and is not conditional on anything, such as finding Mr or Mrs Perfect.

Material possesions and people don’t make us happy long term, they are just short term fixes. If you have ever bought a car you will love it to start with, and before long you take it for granted and it’s no longer exciting. If you have bought a dress, a month later you find yourself saying I’ve got nothing to wear. The only person that can create long term happiness in us and and improve the relationship we have with ourselves… is us!

Money does not create happiness. Having the model figure does not make us happy. The proof is out there. There are plenty of miserable models in rehab or millionaires who are lonely so “stuff” is not the answer. What makes us happy is how we experience the world that we create.

If you are able to maintain a positive emotion in most situations, and look at bad experiences as learning opportunities, then you are almost there!

What do you really want?

Now is the time to stop looking for the perfect relationship and to focus and explore you. What is it that really makes you happy? What have you always wanted to do but were scared to try? What do you love about your life today and what could you do more of that creates those great feelings? The goal is to love and respect you. What could you do today, in the next week, over the next few months that would show you love and respect. How could you show yourself that you can now trust yourself to make sure you are happy every day.

This feeling of happiness creates a powerful feeling of independence and self-esteem. This is the feeling you need to be more attractive. What’s more important than how attractive you are, is how you feel about you.

The relationship hoppers are the people to avoid. They are the ones who need you to make them happy as they have not yet discovered how to look after their own needs.

Filed Under: Coaching Tagged With:

Love and Relationships

August 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_01311886221_courtandme.jpgAre you in a committed healthy romantic relationship that’s very good for not only you, but equally for the person you love. Love and relationships are to become made for ever, not only a few days. Take a look into getting your life much more enjoyable and purposeful by realizing how to act when it comes to those you care most for.

The greatest thing to do in a romantic relationship is to care for the other person´s needs ahead of your own. Being selfless is the core of what love is all about. If you’re having issues with selfishness you need to deal with them successfully ahead of coming into a marriage or other serious personal relationship. Why pull another individual into your issues? In the event you really desire to help them, you’ll need to put them before yourself. This suggests sacrifice. Selfish individuals aren’t prepared to make sacrifices for other people. If you’re this way, save the individual you claim to adore the painfulness of finding out.

An additional significant factor of love and relationships will be the neglected virtue of commitment. Society tends to make it difficult for a guy and a lady to maintain the dedication of holy matrimony. Within the United states of america one is actually compelled to fork out much more taxes should you be married than should you just stay together. But what does “staying together” tell society? It tells the world you desire the pleasures and advantages of matrimony with no dedication. Again, this really is selfish. Don’t forget; love isn’t self-centered. Do the right thing. In case you genuinely would like to live for a partner, make an open public commitment of holy matrimony and get the advantages of a clear conscience as well.

For anyone who is seeking to become married to end your being lonely, this is a self-centered reason. Are you going into a marriage to help make yourself happier? How many individuals are doing this very thing and rendering their lives and the lives of others unpleasant during the process? Love and relationships are created to be mutually satisfying to both persons. If one side starts to have unrealistic expectations, it could be a ticking time bomb of feelings. What will happen when both parties have unrealistic expectations? This really is a formula for failure. When coming into critical personal romantic relationships, it can be very good to have wide open communication channels. You ought to discuss all the expectations you might have plus the other half must do likewise. The word “all” is emphasized in that previous sentence. Money, sex, the long term, kids and any other important topic should be brought out in to the discussion and frankly pointed out. Getting transparent and sincere may be the greatest policy in romance.

Love and relationships are to be held in high esteem when they’re seen within the bonds of marriage. This partnership will be the bonding fabric of humankind. In case you mess it up, you aren’t doing anybody a favour. About three of five marriages in the Usa are faltering, according to available data. Do not be a contributor of this break down of the social structure.

In case you are not one to keep your word, especially in marriage, it’s best to keep out of the romantic relationship. Get your life in order. Grow to be the person that others can model their existence around. Later on, enter into a meaningful romantic relationship that makes the other person the object of importance. Be selfless and become happy.

Filed Under: Relationships Tagged With: ,
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