Yoga in Practice: Train Your Mind for Empowerment, Part 1

Recently, there have been some objections to using words like empowerment, abundance, success, and achievement, within Yoga writings. However, it would be much more difficult to open the doors of my wellness center, in North Providence, if I were homeless. Imagine the number of children, teens, adults, and seniors, who could not reap the benefits of Yoga, if every Yoga teacher took a vow of poverty.

The fifth Yama: Aparigraha (Non-gathering) is clear to Yoga practitioners, but it would be difficult to contribute to charities, research Yoga, write, teach under-privileged people, or make a contribution to mankind, if you are starving in the back alleys of New England, or anywhere else. If you have nothing to give, you can give nothing; therefore, you must acquire and give to others to help mankind.

You should not abandon the concept of empowerment to help yourself, in order that you can help others - in turn. This is not about hoarding material, but accumulating, and re-distributing, to those in need. You only have a temporary hold on any material wealth in this life, so why not help people, while you have it? This is a principle of Karma Yoga: Union by selfless service.

Where do you start with training, or re-training, your mind for empowerment and success? It is within the basic programming of your mind that you must start. You must learn to ?eat, sleep, and drink? positive energy every day.

To eat correctly, a diet should, for the most part, consist of sattvic foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. There is much more to this dieting aspect, but it is difficult to find these foods at a fast food restaurant. However, it is worth the effort to research the sattvic diet and make small changes to your current eating habits.

When you sleep, try to get to bed earlier and be in your best frame of mind. You can do this by meditating or by practicing a stage-by-stage relaxation before bedtime. There are also many good meditation, self-hypnosis, and relaxation CD?s to choose from. Sometimes, dreams can be negative; but with the above-mentioned methods, you can change the programming of your mind.

Drink plenty of pure water and gradually observe how your behavior changes. Many people consume too much caffeine every day. Can you imagine if a negative person walked up to you, in a positive mood, and said, ?I?m sorry, for what I said before - I had one coffee too many, today?? This sounds like a ?lame excuse,? but in reality, there are too many every day conflicts due to caffeine.

With these first three steps, you will gradually train your mind for empowerment.

? Copyright 2006 ? Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. He is a master instructor of martial arts, with multiple Black Belts, four martial arts teaching credentials, and was recently inducted into the USA Martial Arts Hall of Fame. He teaches Yoga, martial arts, and fitness to children, adults, and seniors in the greater Providence area. Recently he wrote: Is Running a Yoga Business Right for You? For Yoga students, who may be considering a new career as a Yoga teacher. http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

How to Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep

Do you have difficulty sleeping? You’re not alone, people across the world complain of difficulty sleeping. Of course if you have a bad night then this generally leaves you feeling crabby the next day. It’s not something we can hide if our bodies don’t get the required rest they deserve and need then it’s going to come through in our day to day activities and attitude. So the big question is how to fall asleep, or is it maybe better how to stay asleep? Can you go to sleep and rest through out the night un disturbed? It is a challenge in todays twenty-four seven lifestyle.

If you’re one of the lucky ones that is able to fall asleep easily, and also hold it until the morning for eight hours congratulations, you’re further ahead then most of us. For some reason this is becoming more and more of an issue, when you’d think it would be going the other way. Todays high tech mattresses and beds are light years ahead of what our parents used. With todays latex and memory foam designs we should be more comfortable then ever. How ever has it ever occurred that maybe it’s not our comfort but our lifestyle that keeps us waking up through the night? One thing that contributes greatly to poor sleep is stress. It may be stress from parenting, work, or other areas of life, not matter what it is that stress stays with you through your sleep effecting your ability to stay asleep through the night.

Learning how to deal with that stress through day to day work and life is important for your overall health and sleep patterns. Whether you need to learn some basic relaxation techniques, or take a long bath before bedtime each night learning how to wind down and relax will do wonders for your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Other ideas to help you fall asleep and awake feeling fully rested are reducing your caffeine intake. Even if you’re not someone who drinks caffeine close to bed time it can still effect your sleeping patterns at night. Professional assistance from a sleep therapist is always an option, but often difficult to get as there are waiting lists from all the others having difficulty sleeping in your area as well. Don’t discount the Internet as a place to find good quality sleep and relaxation tips. A few searches from your favorite search engine might yield the solution you’ve been hoping for.

For tips and articles on relaxation techniques to help you release the stresses of daily life visit our site All Relaxation Tips.