yoga

[airweaver]

hi, i just want to share that when i was practising yoga, i was probably the most calm ive ever been, doing a set of postures (which you choose relevant to your body and its tensions) followed by some meditation are great ingrediants (from my experience) of pushing aside the lower and darker characteristics and traits of your inner psyche..
if your to start, i would suggest going straight for your most troublesome and tense bodyparts, these consistent tensions play a big role in keeping your spirit down.
theres always warnings about doing yoga without an instructor or helpful guide, but ive always tried to understand them myself, its all a part of the self-discovery process.
Its the meditation too which is the mental equivalent of exercising, this should be worked on too, leaving a monkey mind in control of a freshly stretched body will only refill it with tension again, the idea is to empty both the body and mind so they help each other to stay that way...

at a higher level, were all the same one entity, to truly let ourselfs love on all levels of our being is to go home and leave behind physical existance.

[Sever]

I've just started practising yoga. I have to admit, I don't look at it with as much of a spiritual eye as you do, more as another way of working out (hey, it works for Rickson Gracie), but I have noticed it's good at calming me down, which is always a plus

[airweaver]

yeah! however its gonna be practised will be a plus, sometimes i just go through the postures without breath control and mental alertness, although this wouldnt be "proper" yoga, it still makes me feel good. Its one of those things that the more you put into, the more you gain.
but by combining breath,mind and body as you stretch gives you a feeling like your innards are being washed clean by a cleansing vapour, as opposed to giving them a quick workout by just stretcing them..

the root of yoga is the meditation though, the postures are there to eliminate tension from your body, hence increasing blood flow all over.. so actually sitting down to focus and still your thoughts will be easier- because the brain has a greater supply of blood/energy going to it..

hope you enjoy it!

[blessed_samurai]

Yoga rocks. I like Kundalini. It's a great stress releaser and helps with flexibility to a certain extent.