Many people avoid yoga classes that involve chanting. There are several reasons for this, some people feel that chanting is not necessary, weird or some may have reservations regarding spirituality or religious beliefs. However, there are many benefits to adding chanting to your practice. Chanting helps to clear the mind, improve concentration, relax the body and mind and control your moods and emotions. In most yoga classes, students begin by chanting OM, which is known as the eternal syllable, or source of everything that can be seen and not seen. Although the spiritual aspect of the chanting puts some people … Continue reading →

Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice that offers significant benefits. As modern science discovers the wide variety of benefits of meditation, more people are adopting the practice. There are physical, psychological and spiritual benefits of meditation. This blog will address the psychological benefits of the practice. Meditation helps to increase serotonin levels in the body. Serotonin has been shown to influence mood and behavior. Low serotonin levels can negatively impact moods, causing feelings of depression and mood swings. Increasing serotonin levels helps to improve and regulate moods. Focus and concentration are improved with meditation. Whether you want to improve focus … Continue reading →

Meditation is an ancient practice that is gaining popularity, as more people discover the many benefits of the practice. Although meditation has primarily been considered a spiritual practice, the benefits are more than spiritual. There are physiological, emotional and spiritual benefits to the practice of meditation. Studies have uncovered a wide range of physiological benefits. Meditation can decrease the heart rate, blood pressure and even cholesterol levels. Your heart won’t be working as hard and you may find your blood pressure is lower at your next doctor’s visit, which reduces your risk for heart attack and stroke. Physical relaxation is … Continue reading →

The benefits of meditation have been getting more attention in recent years. There are physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of meditation and many studies have demonstrated the benefits of including meditation in your day. Fortunately, getting started is easier than you think. Although people have heard that meditation is beneficial, some hesitate to give it a try. Often, they think that meditation is mysterious or don’t know where to start. The opposite is true; meditation is accessible to everyone. All you need is a quiet space and a few moments to devote to the practice. There are no prerequisites to … Continue reading →

Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice that has found a growing audience in the US and other western countries. There is a wide range of health, emotional and spiritual benefits to the practice, including stress relief benefits. If you have tried meditation or wanted to try, it is easier to start than you think. There are many different types of mediation and techniques that can be used to help beginners learn to meditate. This can include watching the breath, the use of mantras, creative visualization and other techniques. You can select the technique that best fits your needs, but you … Continue reading →

Breathing into the belly is an excellent technique for relaxation and meditation. Most people have shallow breathing and rarely experience the tension releasing benefits of deep belly breathing. There are many benefits to this easy to learn technique. In belly breathing, you take the breath deep into the abdomen, so you are moving the diaphragm and not just breathing into the upper chest. To understand the difference and learn this technique, you will feel the breath moving through the body. Lie on your back on your yoga mat to get started. For the first step, you will breathe into the … Continue reading →

The most difficult thing most people experience when beginning meditation is trouble with concentration and clearing the mind. Inevitably, thoughts about work, relationships and even obsessive thoughts about meditation, during meditation, interfere with the peace of the practice. Don’t worry; this happens to everyone and there are things you can do to help. There are several techniques available to help you focus when you start with meditation. One meditation technique is counting the breaths. As you focus on the breathing during meditation, pay attention to each breath and count it. When you start focusing on the breath, you are focusing … Continue reading →

Meditation has been used for thousands of years and offers a variety of physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits. If you have considered trying meditation, there are many reasons to do it. Meditation helps to improve your health. There have been studies conducted at the Medical College of Georgia and other institutions that have shown improvements in blood pressure, decreased risk for heart disease and stroke, decreased pain and stress levels in patients with cancer, fibromyalgia and lower anxiety levels. Meditation helps to increase your energy. If you feel tired and sluggish in the morning, a short meditation practice can help … Continue reading →

For thousands of years, people have known the benefits of meditation. Now, modern science is backing this up with a multitude of studies that show specific benefits of the practice of meditation. Among the many benefits appears to include reversing aging in the brain and improving memory and concentration. As we age, cognitive decline and memory loss are often taken for granted. Recent research shows that practicing meditation on a regular basis can actually help to prevent cognitive decline and memory loss. The practice has the ability to change the brain. Research conducted by Andrew Newberg, M.D. showed that meditation … Continue reading →

Meditation offers a wide range of physical and emotional benefits. There are many techniques and types of meditation. Regardless of the type of meditation you practice, choosing the right place and time for your practice and taking the time to create a relaxing environment will support the practice. Pick a spot that is quiet and away from the flow of traffic in your home. You don’t want to try to meditate in the family room when the family is traipsing in and out, asking questions directly or just making background noise that will take your focus off your practice. This … Continue reading →