mario

...You are average, Melanie. How could I be average? I had been practicing hot yoga for nearly five years when my husband of 32 years passed away. I started adding more days to my weekly practice to heal and meditateto release anger and frustrationto handle the stress of separation and it worked. Was I really average?

I was 56 years old and I found that I fit the statistic of the average age of widowhood. I felt too young to be a widow and as my practice improved I knew that the door to a happy life was not closing. yoga helped me see that the possibility of a healthy and full life was ahead of me and that there were no limits to my flexibility. Because each posture addresses so much of the inner mind, my adjustment to this new chapter was enhanced by a positive focus and a consistent practice. After a few months of reflection, I decided to participate in my yoga teachers first yoga Teacher Training along with sixty other yogis from around the world. While I was not the oldest, I was close to the oldest enrolled for five weeks of intense training, six days a week from 7am until 9pm or later. I did itI completed my training and while I was not convinced that I would be teaching, I wanted to share my knowledge. With a body that was more toned than ever, I began sharing the message wherever I traveled. Yoga can change your life! became my theme song.

With meditation and concentration, I sent a message out to the universe that I wanted more than ever to participate in this new life; explore my new freedom and challenge my fears. The following year I attended yoga retreats in Brazil, North Carolina and Costa Rica and later Santorini, Greece. I took adv...more

The Journey Of yoga Through Mind

...our body, we come to a greater understanding of both our body and ourselves. We begin a more conscious relationship with our individuality. We meet that unique expression of ourselves expressing physically in that moment. And we are able to begin a process of changing that which is blocking the vital flow of our energy.

That is why it doesn't matter what state we are in when we begin practising a yoga posture. We might be more or less stiff, or in pain, or distracted, than usual. It is a journey of discovery, not of trying to fit ourselves into an external idea, even if that idea is represented in that moment by the yoga posture we are trying to do. Desikachar writes that the body can "only gradually accept an asana". (Desikachar) We should not strain ourselves, or judge ourselves, if we cannot fit into that posture. That posture is a possible ou...more

Practice Hatha yoga for Happiness

..., if you need proof. Happiness is a choice, and Hatha yoga can help anyone find the path of happiness.

Can yoga really open the gateway to happiness? Absolutely! All forms of yoga teach meditation and Pranayama. In Hatha yoga, these concepts sometimes become secondary to yoga postures (Asanas). Yet, all three of these concepts combined will help you feel more cheerful - even during disappointing times.

yoga can be practiced all day long. When you display acts of kindness, you will feel gratified in knowing you helped someone. Loving kindness is a universal Yogic concept. This is just one of many methods of Yoga off th...more

Teaching Hatha yoga for Peace of Mind

...nd the tools to inner peace and quiet - you want to tell everyone about it, but many people do not really hear your message, even if their physical health is in jeopardy.

Physical health should be obvious; all we have to do is look in a mirror or mentally connect with our body. Benefits for the mind cannot easily be seen, but they can be felt. The problem is most people have disconnected from their physical body, and some people have actually disconnected from their minds.

Look at commuter traffic outside of any city and you will see people running from place to place on auto-pilot. Although there are more people attending Yoga classes than ever; the vast majority of people still have no time for Yoga, meditation, Pranayama, or anything rela...more