Yoga, Meditation & Spiritual Growth Blog Carnival #23

Welcome to the 23th edition of the Meditation, Yoga and Personal Development carnival.  This is really an excellent edition, with a ton of great articles.  There is lots of stuff on meditation, stress relief, changing your life, health and spirituality.

For my fellow active stumblers if you are interested in networking on Stumble Upon, please go ahead and reach out to me.  My stumble upon id is http://anmolmehta.stumbleupon.com.

Please link back to this carnival from your Blog, as well as submit the carnival to your favorite social bookmarking sites (Stumble Upon is preferred).  More link love the better for everyone :-).

Featured Articles

1. Prateek gives us an in-depth look at the practice of the powerful Kundalini Yoga Technique: Sodarshan Chakra Kriya and also offers great guidance and help on how to make progress on the spiritual path.

Prateek presents Sodarshan Chakra kriya-Sadhana Journal I posted at sodarshan chakra kriya & revolution.

2. The brain is immensely flexible, much more so that thought earlier, and it is never too late to develop it.  Western science is now starting to scratch the surface about the power of the brain.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Neuroplasticity and the Brain That Changes Itself posted at SharpBrains, saying, "Review of a great book with compelling tales about the amazing abilities of the brain to rewire, readjust and relearn." 

Health and Wellbeing

Valeria presents Peaceful Simplicity: 10 Refreshing Ways to Live in the Here and Now posted at Timeless Lessons.

Carole Fogarty presents 14 Funky Ways To Calm Your Nerves Consistently: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE, saying, "Do yourself a favor and add more deliberate moments of relaxation and deep rest into your day. This article is a reminder of the many ways you can put yourself first more often and soothe your nerves consistently."

Aparna presents Honey extremely good for burns? posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming.

Joel Gray presents Herbal Cancer Treatments [Give] A Boost To Your Cancer Fighting System posted at Health Tips 101.

Fiona King presents 100 Blogs that Will Inspire You to Be a Better Person posted at Massage Therapy Careers.

Peter presents The Ultimate Guide to Stress Relief posted at The Change Blog.

Good Thing presents A Million Good Things posted at A Million Good Things.

Meditation

Axel presents The Benefits Of Guided Meditation posted at axel g.

Coatlicue presents What is meditation? posted at Raw Fitness Online.

Brain Training 101 presents Meditation - Seven Steps To Achieving Bliss posted at BrainTraining101.com, saying, "Simple steps for those new to meditation."

Robert presents The Human Energy System posted at The Easy Meditation Course.

Coatlicue presents What is meditation? posted at Raw Fitness Online, saying, "Meditation is an ancient practise which can bring more balance in our lives. Because the modern world can be very hectic and stressful, meditation is especially important right now."

Sam presents Step by Step Guide to Meditation posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "Step by Step Guide to Meditation.  Meditate to relax, to feel better and to enjoy life. Find peace and understanding. Renew your life Meditation is the simple practice of training your attention. In meditation we cultivate the faculty of mindfulness, or awareness."

Personal Development

Louis Burns presents Presuppose Greatness posted at NLP Marketing Blog.

Byteful Travel presents Personal Development for Smart People & Travel posted at Byteful Blog, saying, "I discuss how the book "Personal Development for Smart people" encouraged and inspired me. The book is a unified theory of personal growth, and I highly recommend it!"

Chris Edgar presents Finishing With The "Finish Line Mentality" posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, "One of our biggest sources of disappointment is the way we tend to assume that, if we reach a certain place in our lives, we’ll live happily ever after. It’s as if our lives are a kind of race, and once we finish the race we can spend the rest of our lives celebrating our victory. When we let go of this "finish line mentality," appreciating the present moment becomes much easier."

Coatlicue presents Live your dreams posted at Raw Fitness Online, saying, "Discover what's the reason why we won't live our dreams, and learn how to achieve the goals in your life."

Becca Glouzstein presents Family Patterns - Becoming Aware of what you are passing on (Part1 - Rules) posted at Inspiration for Mothers . Com, saying, "Becoming conscious of the patterns learned from your family of origin will allow you to raise your own family by design and not default. Take a look at how your family made you who you are as a bog step on the road to your personal development."

Spiritual Growth

Akemi Gaines presents Spiritual Money Practice To Eliminate Poverty posted at Yes to Me, saying, "My 10 principles of spiritual money practice"

Kathleen Gaga presents What's in your spiritual toolbox posted at Daily Awareness, saying, "Ask ten people what spirituality means and you are likely to get ten unique answers. To one well-known Internet Marketer, spirituality means having a great toolbox of tools to help out with the inevitable situations life offers us."

AndrewB presents Courage - The World is Yours posted at Personal Hack, saying, "When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson"

Vish presents The Illusion of Great Work posted at The Power To Realise God Through Self Enquiry..

Naren Ghimire presents 10 Books That May Bring a Revolution in Your Life - Spiritual Books, Motivational BooksSpiritual Pub, saying, "A collection of some great books in spirituality, philosophy, and motivation that would inspire the readers into personal and spiritual growth." posted at

Peter presents How Gratitude Can Change Your Life posted at The Change Blog.

Robin Skeen presents Are You Living A Sacred Life? posted at Robin's Reflections on Law of Attraction and Personal Growth!, saying, "You can have a life that is infused with spiritual strength and purpose each moment of the day."

Yoga

BH presents It is not yoga but it's yoga! posted at Bangladeshi Hindu, saying, "A controversy at a NY school."

Other

Sarah Scrafford presents 50 DIY Spa Treatments to (Frugally) Promote Health and Healing posted at Massage Therapy Careers.

Richard Johnson presents The Great Happiness Puzzle posted at Reaching A Better Place, saying, "When you think about it, happiness is really just a puzzle..."

Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents Law of Attraction in Action: Respect posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat, saying, "If you want respect, work with the Law of Attraction to bring it to you by showing with actions that you won’t accept any less, and focus on respecting yourself."

Alexander De Foe presents Using "Coincidences" for Personal Success posted at SpiritualBlog.com.

Dr. William Callaway, PhD presents Lucky Charms posted at Lucky Charms from Thailand, saying, "Lucky Charms and Mystical Amulets from Thailand, made and blessed by Buddhist monks."

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That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of meditation, yoga and spiritual growth carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Kundalini Awakening Technique

An important aspect of dealing with Kundalini Shakti (energy) is to concentrate your efforts on the purification and strengthening of your systems and nadis (energy channels), and not prematurely use direct methods to awaken Kundalini.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kundalini Shakti and Kundalini Yoga, you may want to first read the following 2 articles: Introduction to the Science of Kundalini Yoga & Kundalini Yoga's Seven Chakra System Overview.

Having said the above, there are techniques, of course, that allow you to stir and awaken Kundalini directly, and rise up from the state of pure potentiality in which she resides at the base of the spine.  In this article I will present such a technique, but it should not be used in isolation.  It is though a valuable technique to learn and employ as part of a complete Kundalini Yoga practice.  Especially if your practice has matured to a certain degree, and you have developed a strong body and nervous system as a result of it.

It has been some time since I acknowledged on the website the sources of my Kundalini Yoga knowledge, so before I proceed I would like to mention that these techniques were taught to me by Ravi Singh, who was a student of Yogi Bhajan.  My deepest gratitude to both of them for sharing this priceless wisdom with all of us.

This particular exercise will be part of the following 2 free e-books here on Mastery of Meditation, as it is a Kundalini Yoga exercise as well as a yoga breathing technique: Online Kundalini Yoga Exercises & Free Yoga Breathing Exercises E-book.

This kundalini yoga technique is actually a form of advanced pranayama (yogic science of breath control), and to perform it successfully, requires an understanding of prana (life-force) and how it functions within your body.

Within the energetic body (aka: psychic body/astral body/pranamaya kosha), 5 distinct types of prana are at work; prana, apana, samana, udana and vyana.  Of these 5 types, the 2 most important are prana and apana.  Please note that by prana here (and going forward) I am referring to the subtype and not the overall life force, which is also called prana.

Prana works in the region from the neck down to the diaphragm and is an upward moving force, while apana works form the navel down and is a downward moving force.  This pranayama is designed to reverse the direction of apana and move it upwards to the level of the solar plexus, while at the same time move prana down, such that they both mix in the stomach region.  This mixing then creates the spark which ignites kundalini and causes her to awaken and rise up the shushumna (central psychic channel).

More specifically, those familiar with the chakra system, will note that we are moving apana into the region of the manipura chakra, which is governed by fire.  This elongates the flame, so to speak, which is then stoked by the now downward moving prana.  Creating the necessary heat to awaken kundalini.

Advanced Yoga Technique to Awaken Kundalini

Illustration #1 Advanced Kundalini Awakening Technique

Illustration #2 Advanced Kundalini Awakening Technique

Advanced Yoga Technique to Awaken Kundalini:

a. Instructions for practicing Yoga Technique to Awaken Kundalini:

• Sit in any comfortable cross legged posture.  You can sit on a chair if necessary.  Keep your back and spine straight, and chin pulled back and tucked in slightly like a soldier at attention (variation of Jalandhara Bandha or neck lock)
  

• As illustrated above, raise your arms up to shoulder level.  Bend the elbows up at 90 degrees and then have the palms facing backwards, again making a ninety degree angle with your wrists.  The fingers are all extended.

• Inhale deeply and hold your breath in (Antar Kumbhaka).  Keep the breath held in and relax your stomach.  Now visualize prana vayu (wind) moving downward towards the solar plexus, while apana vayu moving up towards the solar plexus.  Visualize them mixing in that region, while keeping your breath held in during this time.  Do not over strain, and release your breath when required.

• After exhaling, inhale again and repeat the visualization.  Continue this process for 3 rounds.  Each round being one breath cycle (inhale - hold - visualize - exhale).

• After you complete your last cycle.  Inhale, then exhale completely and with your breath held out apply root lock (mulabandha) for as long as you can.  Root lock is the pulling up and in of the rectum, sex organ and lower abdominal muscles all at the same time.
  

b. Duration for Yoga Technique to Awaken Kundalini:

• Start with 3 rounds and build up from there.  You can build upto 11 rounds or more.
  

c. Benefits of Yoga Technique to Awaken Kundalini:

• Creates the energy necessary to stimulate and awaken Kundalini Shakti.  Leading her to rise up the shushumna.
  
• Develops your lung capacity and respiratory systems.
  
• Strengthens and opens up your shoulders and arms.
• Builds willpower and concentration.
  

d. Practice Tips for Yoga Technique to Awaken Kundalini:

• This meditation technique requires you to be familiar with the prana and apana vayus.  Attending to your inhalation can help you understand prana vayu and attending to the bodily forces that push downwards (excretion, etc) can help familiarize you with apana vayu.
• You can also adopt the practice of the following variation of Mula Bandha, where you only contact and release the rectum muscle.  In this case you are learning to turn apana vayu upwards and gain familiarity with it.  You can practice applying and releasing mula bandha at any time during your sadhana or otherwise.
• You can practice with your hands down as well initially to develop other aspects of this meditative technique.
  

Online Kundalini Yoga Kriyas Using Kundaini Awakening Technique:

1. This powerful kundalini yoga pranayama can be added to the beginning of any Kundalini Yoga Kriya.  It is a good way to get your sadhana (spiritual practice) started.

Last week we ran the fun survey, which candidate would be most qualified to uplift the world spiritually, Barack Obama or John McCain.  Well, the votes have been counted and pretty much, like the general election, this was not very close either.  Barack Obama won comfortably and here are those results.

You can see that Obama received 91% of the votes, with only a handful feeling that McCain would be the better choice from a spiritual perspective.  Let us hope President Elect Obama, lives up to these hopes and expectations, and becomes a catalyst for peace and brotherhood in the world.

Interestingly, several readers felt that besides Obama and McCain, there were other candidates on the ballot who were a better choice than either, so for the next time we run this poll (2012 ), I will make sure to do a more thorough job (and yes I will include "none" as a choice as well ).

From a yoga and meditation perspective, the solution of course is that you must, as Gandhiji put it, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."  This is the central approach of any real spiritual practice, that if you wish for a world full of love, peace and freedom, you must first have love, peace and freedom in your heart and mind.  That awakening yourself is your first and primary responsibility.

The path to peace and true freedom finally, does not go through the White House, it goes through your house!  So it's up to us to uplift ourselves and thus, uplift this wonderful world we have been blessed to live in.  Let us spread as much love and light as we can during our time here and see each day as an opportunity to Do Good and Be Good.

Yoga Pose to Strengthen Arms & Back

Plank Pose is a yoga position which, in general, women find a bit more challenging than men to do.  Especially, if they have not consciously developed their upper body strength.  So if you looking to tone up your arms, as well as strengthen your back and spine, this pose is perfect for you.  Plank pose is simple enough for beginners to do and is a good way to balance your yoga workout by adding some upper body work into it.

Plank position is a fundamental yoga pose, and is part of most schools of yoga.  Here on Mastery of Meditation & Yoga, it will be part of the following 2 free online e-books: Free Hatha Yoga Poses & Online Kundalini Yoga Exercises.

There are a few variations to this pose and in the pictures below I am demonstrating a relatively uncommon variation, in which I do the pose with toes extended instead of curled under.  This variation is often used in Kundalini Yoga and is a little more difficult than the basic pose.  I mention some of the other variations in the Practice Tips section below as well.

Yoga Plank Pose for Upper Body Strength

Illustration #1 Basic Yoga Plank Pose

Illustration #2 Kundalini Yoga Plank Pose

Yoga Plank Position For Upper Body Strength:

a. Instructions for practicing Yoga Plank Pose:

• Most of us are familiar with doing push ups, and plank pose is essentially the up position when doing a push up.

• For plank pose be sure to keep your body in a straight line, like I have demonstrated above.  Don't allow the butt to sag and the hands should be directly underneath the shoulders.

• There are also the two typical eye position variations.  You can keep the eyes open and fix your gaze steadily at a point in front of you (typical of Hatha Yoga), or you can do this pose with your eyes closed (kundalini yoga).

• Breathing is normal, except if you are doing a particular Kundalini Yoga Kriya, which might require you to do Breath of Fire while holding Plank Pose.

b. Duration for Yoga Plank Pose:

• 15 seconds - 5 minutes.
  

c. Benefits of Yoga Plank Pose:

• Strengthens the arms, wrists, shoulders, back and spine.
• Develops your core strength and abdominal muscles.
  
• Tones the triceps.
  
• Good for improving your nervous system.

d. Practice Tips for Yoga Plank Pose:

• Advanced variations of Plank Pose include, lifting one leg up and holding the pose, or lifting one arm up and holding the pose.
  
• In the Kundalini Yoga variation, the toes are kept extended as show in illustration #2.  This can put more pressure on the lower back, so be careful when using this version.

Online Kundalini Yoga Kriyas Using Yoga Plank Pose:

1. You can add Plank Pose to your yoga routine to help develop your upper body strength and use the article, 6 Guidelines on How to Create Yoga Sets to help you.

Most Popular Meditation & Yoga Techniques

Mastery of Meditation & Yoga now offers hundreds of time tested yoga and meditation techniques to help you achieve your highest potential.  The techniques range for helping you develop your charisma (Eagle Pose) all the way to helping you bring about the cessation of thoughts (SM Meditation Technique).  Since there are so many techniques now available though, I thought it would be valuable to point out which are the top 5 yoga and meditation techniques, that the readers have most benefited from so far.

Before I go into this top 5 list though, I want to point out 2 other recent articles which I think will be valuable in helping you decide which meditation or yoga exercises you should be practicing.

First, there is the article on Chakra Analysis & Healing, which uses the Kundalini Yoga Seven Chakra system to help you analyze your current state, and determine what areas you need the most work in.  This article also points out which yoga exercises or meditations you can do in order to heal these weakest chakra centers.  It is a helpful guide for personal development and spiritual growth.

Second, there is the popular Ultimate Meditation Techniques Guide.  This guide indicates which meditation technique you should practice, for achieving particular goals and objectives.  It helps you determine the right meditation for obtaining particular results. 

Now onto the top 5 yoga and meditation techniques which are the most popular with the readers.  They are not in any particular order though.  These are the most popular techniques from all the techniques here on Mastery of Meditation based on feedback, emails and comments.

1. Meditation Technique: AUM Mantra Meditation Technique

There are 2 very popular meditation techniques on Mastery of Meditation and the AUM Mantra Meditation Technique is one of them.  This technique is a favorite for anyone interested in opening the Third Eye Chakra and obtaining the powers to know the unknown and see the unseen.

2. Meditation Technique: Zen Meditation Technique

The other meditation technique which is extremely popular and enjoyed by many readers is the Zen Meditation Technique. This meditation is that of Lord Buddha and is excellent for developing the witness consciousness and for Self-Realization.

3. Kundalini Yoga Technique: Sodarshan Chakra Kriya

The king kong of yoga techniques is Sodarshan Chakra Kriya, which I have detailed in the article Most Powerful Yoga Pranayamas & Kriyas.  That title pretty much sums up the attraction of this wonderful yogic exercise.  It is the favorite of those looking to dissolve blockages in their energy channels, develop their internal systems, increase energy and obtain psychic powers.

4. Hatha Yoga Pranayama: Kapalbhati Yoga Pranayama

One of the best pranayamas (breathing exercises) in yoga is Kapalbhati Pranayama.  It is a simple technique, with far reaching benefits.  It is ideal for obtaining physical, emotional and mental health.  What more do your want?

5. Kundalini Yoga: Infinite Energy & Prosperity Meditation Technique

This timeless gift from Kundalini Yoga, Infinite Energy & Prosperity Meditation Technique, is about aligning yourself with the greater energies of the Universe and enabling it to shower upon you energy, gifts and prosperity.

Summary of 5 Best Yoga & Meditation Techniques:

These 5 yoga and meditation techniques have so far been the most popular here on Mastery of Meditation.  So, if you are looking for something to enhance your spiritual practice, you can't go wrong by picking any one of these profound gems.

If there are other favorite techniques you have, please do share them with us below.  Such knowledge is precious to others looking for guidance on the journey back to the Source.

In addition, I had the honor of saving millions of tadpoles from certain death, by transferring them to a nearby brook from an unused swimming pool, where they had made their home.  The ashram had decided to refurbish the pool and Swamiji did not want to see the tadpoles killed, so I was tasked with netting and migrating them to the stream.  It was one of the best summer's of my young life .

What I liked best about the set-up that Swamiji had put together, was that there was no charge for anything at the ashram.  Everything was for free and one gave back however they could.  I, by doing Karma Yoga (Right Work) and others in their own way.  This is how it was done in the days of old and as much as possible this system is obviously the one I prefer as well.  Thus, the free online classes, free yoga videos, free meditation books, free pranayama books, etc, etc .   And yes, for those who might be wondering, I intend to keep it that way as much as I can .

There is one issue though, with regard to free yoga and meditation, that has been lurking in my mind for some time and one that others have pointed out as well, which I would like to discuss in this article.  In the old days, if you wanted to learn powerful yogic techniques or profound meditations, you perhaps did not have to pay, but you did have to earn it.  And in general you earned it by winning the favor of the teacher.  In other words, the teachers would teach you if they felt you were worthy and/or you had earned this privilege.  I am glad that too is no longer the case though, because this then lead to those with the knowledge wielding it for power, the formation of secret societies and what not.  So I like this new paradigm, where the knowledge is not only for free, but it is also freely available to all who seek it.  Here though is my issue.

In the modern world, whether we like it or not, money is often the yardstick used to measure an item's worth.  The more you pay for something, the better you expect that product to be.  In our consumer driven economy, this aspect has become very ingrained and now is almost a part of our psychology.  This psychology, of determining value based on price, though creates a problem for my everything free paradigm.  In that, I wonder if the free yoga, meditation and classes are not getting their due respect because they do not have to be paid for?

I want to mention here that this certainly may not apply to you, so please don't be offended or take this the wrong way.  Neither am I whining or complaining, or asking for gratitude or anything.  This is just something that I think may apply to some and I am discussing it as I feel it is valuable to assess this possibility, in order to ensure one is not getting unconsciously caught in this way of thinking.  If this way of thinking is coloring your view, then it could be affecting how much you are getting out of the free information on this website, because it will affect how much effort you are putting in.

I think this is an interesting point.  If, let's say you had paid $1,000 for access to all the online yoga and mediation classes.  I am sure your approach to them would be very serious and diligent.  After all, you have to get your money's worth!  But, since they are free, perhaps your approach is a little more casual, a little more relaxed.  Perhaps you are not as committed as you would be, if you had to plunk down a grand in order to be able to access them?  This is what I fear most with regard to giving away everything for free.  That you may not give your hundred percent to it, and that would mean you short change yourself.

The benefits of yoga and meditation are profound.  They are real.  They have been proven time and again by research and scientific study, so there is no question regarding the awesome value of these practices.  But, the caveat is that they must be practiced regularly in order to bestow their blessings onto you.  That requires you to value the teachings and commit to your practice one hundred percent.  So if you must, please imagine you have paid me all your savings for access to this website and now believing that, approach the techniques and programs you find here. 

There is nothing in this world that compares to meditation.  There is nothing even remotely as valuable.  Meditation is the light that will make you realize you are everything, what more do you need?