A number of health problems are rooted in mental instability. Frequent bouts of anger and frustration can lead to stress and related problems. One of the most efficient ways of dealing with this instability and stress is meditation.
Vipasana is an ancient meditative technique that promises to allow a person to see the true nature of things. In Buddhist tradition, it literally translates to insight to the true reality of nature namely impermanence, suffering and the realization of non self. It focuses on self observation and the connection between mind and body and aims to eradicate mental impurities.
Vipasana meditation can be broken down into four stages.
Discovering Vitakka and Vicara: The first stage of Vipasana explores the connection between body and mind. This is done by concentrating on inhaling and exhaling and the feeling of air passing over the skin in front of the nose. Vitakka and vicara refer to the concentration and thought required to feel the connection between mind and body.
Disappearance of Vitakka and Vicara: In the second stage, the connection between mind and body is felt effortlessly. Thus, in this stage both vitakka and vicara fade away. This is known as anapana meditation and helps develop control over the mind.
Happiness: When a person reaches the third stage of vipasana, he stops focusing on emotions like pity, sadness, exuberance and only feels happiness. This frees the mind of negativity and hence purifies it.
Equanimity: The fourth and final stage is characterized by mindfulness and leads to clarity. At this stage, a person feels the desire for freedom and understands nature to be ever changing.
Vipasana is taught at a ten day residential program. Here, participants must adhere to a code of discipline that includes absolute silence and abstaining from any form of communication, sexual activity and substance abuse. Participants are taught the basics of the meditation technique and how to practice it but to benefit fully from it, regular meditation is necessary. Advanced vipasana students may attend 20, 30, 45 and 60 day courses to practice vipasana. An introduction to vipasana is also given to children in the form of short 3 day courses.
Ultimately, vipasana enables the practitioner to experience peace and harmony within oneself and with the rest of the world. It frees the mind from craving and hence also helps people abstain from social evils like stealing and killing. Thus, vipasana has the capacity to change minds and character and helps practitioners lead fulfilling, healthy lives. 

Vipasana - See The True Nature Of Things

Did you know that yoga poses help you in achieving greater flexibility rather than develop it? If you are suffering from stiff hamstrings, painful lower back and locked-up hips and tried many yoga poses without any help, then you may not have tried the right poses. When the body is stiff, it feels like you are trapped within your own body. Flexibility exercises can help in alleviating joint stiffness that may have developed due to a wide array of reasons. Here are the main asanas that are great for joint flexibility.

1. Big toe pose or Padangusthasana: This yogic pose can calm the nervous system and relieve stress and anxiety and stimulate your kidney and liver to optimize their functions. With regular practice, your calf muscles and hamstrings would stretch and your thighs would become stronger. If you are suffering from indigestion and insomnia, then big toe pose is a must try and it also helps in alleviating the symptoms of menopause.

2. Bound angle pose or Baddha Konasana: This pose offers a host of benefits that include stimulating your abdominal organs, prostate glands, ovaries, kidneys and bladder. It also stimulates blood and oxygen circulation throughout the body and improves the heart condition. It is a therapeutic treatment for high blood pressure, anxiety, mild depression, fatigue flat feet, asthma and infertility. With consistent practice, you will be able to stretch your knees, groin and inner thigh.

3. Child's pose or Balasana: This resting pose calms the mind and improves digestion to a great extent. It helps in elongation of the lower back by opening up and stretching this part of the body where all the weight is dumped while you sit and work all day long. This pose is perfect for opening up the hip and reducing hip pains and improving their flexibility.

4. Cow face pose or Gomukhasana: When performed regularly, this pose helps in deep stretching the hips, thighs, ankles, armpit, shoulders, triceps, chest and deltoid. If you had been suffering from a chronic knee pain, this pose can help relieving it. It also aids in strengthening the spine and abdominals, and its folded variations are a great way of decompressing lower spine and clearing the hip joint.

Increased flexibility is one of the topmost benefits of yoga that would surely equip you with the freedom of movement and relaxation. However, it is always important to consult an expert before you try these poses, as they can evaluate your medical history and select the ideal yogic postures that would work best for you.

Improving Joint Flexibility Through Yoga

Ayurveda addresses the physical, mental and emotional well-being of a person. According to ayurveda, emotional instability is caused by miscommunication between the head and the heart. Here are ten ayurvedic tips to uplift your emotions and calm your inner self. 

 Go to bed on time: a good night's sleep is essential not only for your physical health, but also for your mental health. Try going to bed by 9 pm on a regular basis. This will give you a restful night's sleep and allow you to awake feeling refreshed.
 Wake up with the sun: an early start to the day keeps you from feeling dull and tired and boosts your energy levels. This also prevents build-up of toxins in your body and helps keep circulation and internal communication lines clear. 
 Go outdoors: start your day by taking a walk outdoors early morning. This releases positive neurohormones that elevate your mood and activates the body's energy centres. 
 Avoid constipation: clearing the waste created by your body on a daily basis is crucial to having a calm persona and not suffering from low mood swings. Drink plenty of water and make it a habit to eliminate your bowels at a particular time of the day to prevent constipation. Eating food rich in fiber or eating a few prunes, figs or cooked apples before going to bed can also help prevent constipation. 
 Eat food that is easy to digest: food that is easy to digest does not cause bloating and other indigestion-related problems. It also prevents the buildup of toxic chemicals and boosts immunity. When your physical health is good, your mood gets elevated as well. 
 Try herbs and spices: spices and herbs help the body absorb nutrients and prevent the buildup of toxins in your body. Try including flavouring agents like turmeric, amla, peppermint oil, coconut oil and cumin in your food to make yourself feel happier. 
 Get a massage: a massage relaxes the body and eases stress. It also releases toxins, improves circulation and invigorates the body. Use any oil you like for a massage as each has its own unique properties. 
 Exercise: regular exercise is one of the cornerstones of good physical and mental health. Aim for at least half an hour rigrous exercise or break it into smaller intervals as per your time suitability. Yoga can also be very beneficial when it comes to elevating your mood. 
 Pranayama: pranayama is the yogic way of breathing. This teaches you to breathe slowly and consciously so as to release pent up anger, stress etc and calm the mind. 
 Meditate: regular meditation at the beginning or end of each day can also help calm the body and mind.

10 Ayurvedic Secrets to Uplift the Emotions and Create Inner Calm

8 Do’s and don’ts of meditation for beginners

While meditation can improve your overall well being considerably, it can take some time for you to master this art, especially if you're a beginner.  Follow these simple do’s and don’ts, even if you’re a novice, you can be well on your way to finding inner peace, happiness, focus and the holistic health benefits that come with the daily practice of this art (and science).

The Don’ts of Meditation

1. Don’t do it with too many expectations
It can do more harm than good if you go into meditation with a baggage of expectations. You need to go into it with an open mind, while letting go of all your hopes, goals and expectations. Most importantly, to experience inner peace and stillness, you have to persevere, even if the results do not match your expectations. 

2. Don’t worry about interruptions
Meditation is all about letting go and learning to go with the flow. So, don’t get flustered if you experience interruptions and have to get back to your meditative mindset several times. 

3. Don’t look upon meditation as a quick-fix for your problems
Considered to be an effective treatment for stress and worries, meditation should not be taken up with the thinking that your problems would be resolved in no time. The effects of meditation may not show up for months to come. Patience is the key when it comes to meditation. 

The Do’s of Meditation

4. Do meditate in a quiet spot
Whether you’re doing it alone, at home or in a group, it is always good to meditate in a place where you will not be distracted by your surroundings. Your meditation can break even at the slightest noise, so pick the quietest spot possible. 


5. Do meditate in a group
For a beginner, meditating alone can be difficult and discouraging. You require a great deal of mental effort and determination to just sit still and not do anything. So, it’s good to go at it with the help of others who have been practicing it for sometime as their struggles and experiences may teach you a lot.

6. Do take the help of technology to improve your meditation
Apart from books, even technological tools like podcasts and apps can aid in improving your meditation knowledge and skills. While podcasts on meditation can be downloaded and viewed anytime, anywhere; apps can be used to time your meditation or even to divert any calls or messages that you may receive while you’re meditating, thus, preventing any form of distraction.

7. Do experiment and vary your practice        
In order to stave off boredom that might arise from pursuing just one kind of meditation style, you could vary your practice with a myriad of meditation styles, ranging from a body targeted meditation to a breath focused one.

8. Always opt for the sitting position
It’s extremely important to get your body to differentiate between sleep and meditation. The body of a beginner can easily mistake meditation for sleep. For this reason, it is best to be always in a seated position when meditating. You could use blankets or pillows to increase your comfort level. 

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

8 Do’s and Don’ts of Meditation for Beginners

If you are looking for an effective immunity boost in your body, you should choose Ayurveda and undertake ayurvedic procedures and remedies. Good health, according to Ayurveda, involves balancing of your doshas such as vata, pitta and kapha and making sure that your agni or digestive system is working smoothly. There are several Ayurvedic ways using which you will be able to boost your body s immune system and its capability.

They are as follows:

Keep your immune system in proper balance by eating proper food: A weakened immune system makes you prone to all sorts of illnesses and diseases. In case the immune system becomes overactive, it targets your body s own tissues, confusing them for foreign invaders and attacks them. Your diet is very important for balancing this fighting response within your body. If your body gets the right nutrients and eliminates toxins effectively, the immune system gets strengthened. You should consume leafy vegetables, whole grain, nuts, legumes and highly pigmented food.

Detox: According to Ayurveda, ama is a primary factor, which leads to the development of diseases. Ama is the name of stored toxins in Sanskrit language and if your body has unhealthy ama, an environment is created where invaders thrive. Ama may occur due to both mental and physical indigestion. Ama and indigestion prevent essential nutrients from reaching your tissues, which weaken your immune function. You need to detoxify your body at regular intervals if you have unhealthy eating habits or get exposed to harmful environmental toxins.

Keep your agni strong: The digestive system or agni is very important for your health and it highly influences your immunity and immune system capability. The ability of digestion, assimilation and absorption of nutrients by the body also determines your immune strength. If your agni gets impaired because of an imbalance within the tridosha, your metabolism is affected, which weakens the immune system and body s natural resistance. Eating food items which are harmful for the digestive system leads to excess ama formation. A toxic environment is created in the body. This factor interferes with the natural intelligence of every cell which is encoded with the will of living healthy and working as a whole, together. Ayurveda aims at restoring this intelligence factor. You can boost your agni by consuming hot water and ginger tea regularly.

Yoga and meditations are important for boosting immunity, according to Ayurvedic traditions. Yoga and meditation help in reducing stress and positively affect your immune system.

Immunity - How Ayurveda Can Help You Restore it?

The way we sit, walk, bend or stand is hugely dependent on one very vital organ of the human body; the spine. The spinal column provides strength and support to your entire framework. It has nerves, muscles, bones and tendons; all of which enhance proper functioning of your body. The human brain sends signals to the nerves in your spinal cord, a mass of nerve fibers and tissues ensconced within the spine, which further prompts every single part of your body to perform minute and notable actions all the same. A spine injury can, thus impair your health; in many cases it can even turn out to be fatal. Care should be taken to avoid sources of spine shock or injury. If an injury has already been acquired, it should be treated either through exercising or through medical assistance. 

A few postures to reap the benefits of a fit spine:

1. Twist your spine either early in the morning or after a tiring day: Fold one leg while the other leg remains perched on the folded one. If the left leg is folded the left elbow should be rested on your perched right knee and the right palm should be placed on the yoga mat behind your right hip. This posture can be repeated by folding the right leg as well. It increases spine mobility by twisting it to the end of its range sideways. Muscular spine aches can be remedied by following this posture once each day.
  
2. Do not slouch but sit straight: Some people are in the habit of slouching when they sit or stand. This is an absolutely wrong thing to do if your spine health is of any concern to you. Stretch out your shoulder blades and remain erect while standing and the same should be followed while sitting. Bending one's spine, unless it is necessary, can be very harmful.  
    
3. Stretch your spine in three directions: This exercise is a good way to allay the tension your spine has to undergo every day. Sit with folded legs, intertwine your fingers and stretch your arms upward, in front and at the back to expand your spine to the full. 
  
4. The downward doggy posture can relieve back pain: In this yoga posture, one is expected to stretch his or her legs according to the width of the person's back and stoop forward by placing the palms on a yoga mat. Knees and elbows should not bend.

Postures for a Fit Spine

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