Red Cross Hall Palm Beach - Hatha Qi Gong

Laughter is good - Benefits of laughing and Yoga Meditation

Three Zen monks went to a mountain cave to contemplate the Ultimate Reality.                

Three years later... 
A mountain goat walked by the entrance to the cave.        
The first monk said, "Did you see that?"
Three years later, the second monk said, "What?"
Three years later, the third monk said, 
"If you guys don't shut up, I'm outta here!"

Benefits of Laughter

1. Laughter creates happy feelings:

Laughter helps people who are suffering from anxiety and depression. Laughing reduces tension and stress, lowers anxiety and irritation. These are all major factors that contribute to feeling blue. Having a good laugh releases endorphins resulting in feelings of wellbeing and happiness. If you feel sad, laughter may provide you with a temporary relief.

2. Laughter is good for your heart:

A study by heart specialists at the University of Maryland found that people with heart disease laughed less compared to people of the same age without heart disease. Believe it or not, laughter increases your blood flow. This improves the health of your blood vessels, heart and overall cardiovascular system. Research showed that 15 minutes of laughter a day can benefit your heart as much as exercising 3 times a week. A side benefit of laughing is that you appear happier and healthier.

3. Laughter defuses anger and tension:

Have you ever tried telling a joke in a tense situation? Try it! Laughing eases anger by giving a much needed break. It can also help you shift gears and see a situation with a fresh point of view.

4.  Laughter lowers blood pressure:

 
People who laugh a lot on a regular basis have lower blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, the blood pressure increases at first, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper and this helps to send oxygen-rich blood and nutrients throughout the body.

Come to a class, it's always fun. You get to relax, rejuvenate, chill out, practice yoga, meditate and discover why the use of sacred sound  is so important for your over all good health and wellbeing. You will be pleasantly suprised by what you learn. We encourage a hands on approach to learning so you will be able to practice as you learn and take home a very simple and enjoyable method of meditation that you can easily add to your daily life. In this way you will experience for yourself the very real ... benefits. See you in class.

Namaste

Yoga meditation practice - Reconnect spiritually

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Have you ever felt like a fish out of water? Has your intuition prompted you to ask 'Is this it? Is there more to life than what I am currently experiencing? Have you ever felt as though there was more to LIFE's story BUT had NO clue what? The missing piece of the puzzle so to speak.

If we were to ask these same questions of others, the majority would admit to questioning life and the purpose for existence. This is good thing, this is great, a good healthy sign. The human form of life is meant for contemplation, introspection, spiritual enquiry, self realisation. This is an indication that you  are ready to look beyond the material experience, that you are ready for more.

Unfortunately because we don't know where to look for answers we try to figure it out for ourselves. If you were to spend a relatively short time on google you would find that there are so many out there who are offering what they believe to be perfect answers and solutions. What is one to do ... there are so many options, so many choices.

A word of caution

When we are searching for good solid information and guidance we need to spend time on our own due diligence, we need to be thorough and carefully enquire, ask questions. Question everything with a sincere enthusiastic respectful attitude, not challenging. We should then consider what we have been told.

We need to check the lineage of the teachings. How far back the lineage can be traced. Does the lineage consist of a line of spiritually perfect teachers. Find out if someone may have recently concocted the information they are presenting. Check to see if they had a teacher, whose care they were under, who they studied and trained with.

I think that even a novice would appreciate this common sense approach. In every day life if we want to go to the best universities, or have the best teachers we do rigorous research to find the best. If we were to have an operation, or if we had cancer or some serious disease we would try to make sure we were under the care of the best surgeon. Even down to renovating our home, we would want references for builders, plumbers, tilers, and so forth. This to me would be a common sense approach.

If we are so meticulously careful with our day to day lives, we should apply at least the same amount of vigour and effort, or be even more fastidious when seeking  a guiding light, teacher, mentor, spiritual guide. We cannot leave it up to chance or whim, this is our precious life we are talking about, our eternal spiritual life, nothing is more valuable than that. 

We must try to listen carefully to what we are hearing, we check with our intuition (the lord within our heart) and also check with the ancient sacred writings. If we find that all 3 are in harmony we can rest assured that we are on the right path. We can then give thanks, feel gratitude, feel safe and know that we are blessed.

Come over and do some meditation, yoga, yoga nidra, guided meditation, or pranyama healing breath meditation with us. Pick up some information on our 1 day mini yoga meditation retreats.

Namaste

Have a great week

Yoga Meditation Studio 4221

Palm Beach

Yoga Asana - Full body stretch

 Full body stretch


This is a good stretch to do any time of the day or night. It has a nice energising effect on the whole body. 

How To:

• Lie down on your mat.
• Bring your hands into prayer position at the heart.
• Inhale and raise your hands over head keeping palms together.
• Lengthen through the belly, torso, and rib cage. Feel the spine lengthen, exhale and soften the arms.
• Inhale and point the feet, exhale and flex the feet.
• Repeat the sequence 2 more times.
• When you've finished your reps, bring the hands back into prayer and then rest them at your sides. Let the feet be floppy and rest for 3 full breath cycles.

Cautions:

• If you have high blood pressure don't raise your arms above your head. Instead extend your arms out to the side at shoulder height.
• If you have shoulder problems do the same as with high blood pressure.
• Do not do this stretch if you have serious ankle, shoulder or back problems.

Benefits:

• Decompress's the spine.
• Increases circulation.
• Is both energising and relaxing.

If you would like to attend a regular yoga stretch class, contact us here at yoga meditation palm beach 4221 for our yoga stretch class schedule.


Disclaimer:
Before attempting any of these stretches seek advise from your doctor. We can not and will not be responsible for any injury caused by your attempt to exercise following these instructions.