Inner peace cannot be purchased or sold, nor can it be downloaded or e-mailed. The good news is that you already have it within you. If you have not found it yet, you are probably not far from finding it. The most common reason for not finding inner peace is that we instead chase after small portions of outer peace. We tell ourselves that we have found inner peace, and we stop searching for true inner peace before even beginning to search within. The following tips will help you to distinguish true inner peace from its impostor, outer peace.
Inner peace vs. outer peace
Inner peace is always within you, while outer peace depends on one or more outside circumstances. Inner peace was within you before you were born, will be with you after you die, and it is in you now, even if chaos surrounds you. Outer peace comes and goes depending on external circumstances, such as soft music or nature sounds, a relaxing massage or a yoga class. Inner peace is permanent; outer peace is temporary.
Yoga and the search for inner peace
Yoga is designed to help you find inner peace, and all true yoga masters have found it. (more…)
This is my good friend, Gudrun Leduc. Gudrun was born in Germany and after some extensive traveling, she settled in Montreal, Canada.
Around ten years ago, Gudrun called one of my companies, and I invited her and her husband to visit me in Panama. We have been friends ever since, and I have come to know what a remarkable person she is. Gudrun is an inspiration to many people. Some know her as the dedicated Tai Chi and Chi Gong master. Others have studied yoga and pilates with her. Still others have received expert shiatsu massage treatments from her. And many a student and friend of Gudrun has had the pleasure of sampling Gudrun’s exquisite meals.
It was in China that Gudrun received her training in Tai Chi and Chi Gong. She studied Yang style and Sun style tai chi, as well as tai chi weapons, including the use of single-edged and double-edged broadswords. She studied these arts at the University of Physical Education in Beijing under Master Wu and Grand Master Yung Ming Zhong. She then took her knowledge back to Canada, and opened the 5 Elements School, to share these arts with her own students, many of whom continued practicing with her for twenty years, until Gudrun’s move to Panama.
Gudrun is married to Greg Leduc, a talented musician and the two have two lovely daughters and a beautiful grandson. Below, Gudrun is pictured with her daughter, Katherine, who has taken over the management of the 5 Elements School in Montreal.
Yoga Nidra is the Yoga of Dreams, the practice of working with one’s dreams to advance one’s conscious evolution and earthly mission. Yoga Nidra is one of the lesser-known but most powerful forms of yoga. Very few yoga schools teach yoga nidra, either because it is not profitable to do so (the practice is normally done free of charge at the student’s home) or because the yoga teacher has little or no experience with this practice.
Dreaming is the Key to Good Sleep
Sleep is said to replenish and conserve energy and to protect us from nightly harm. But we can learn to conserve and replenish our energy during the day, and we can certainly stay clear of harm, by eliminating the bad habits that lead to disease. But we would still need to sleep. Why? The need for sleep is all about the dream.
If you get a reasonable amount of sleep, and yet still feel tired, you may be able to solve this problem by learning to work with your dreams (yoga nidra). And if you do not get enough sleep, then it is very likely that you are missing out on the invaluable benefits of dreaming.
Yet studies, articles and books on sleeping frequently understate or ignore the importance of dreaming. Most studies relating to sleep will focus on measurable data like the number of hours or minutes one is alseep, or the release of certain hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, human growth hormone (HGH) and serotonin. No study that I am aware of has properly considered the importance of dreaming. Perhaps for good reason: the value of the dream is immeasurable!
The Divine Trinity in You
In religious terms, the Divine Trinity is a triple-entity, three beings in one. The key concepts are oneness and synergy. The same must be true for the body, mind and soul. Not only do they form a single “triple” entity, but the sum is indeed greater than the parts. If these “three parts” fail to recognize each other and work together, then your life will lack peace, harmony and a deep sense of success.
Dreaming and Spiritual Freedom
Dreaming and mining one’s dreams for consciousness is useful in accomplishing one’s earthly mission. Working with dreams is also called Yoga Nidra. While you dream, your spirit is free to gain consciousness. In contrast, while you are awake, it may be that your spirit normally yields to a demanding brain and a body that chases after its every whim.
Freedom of spirit is indispensable to maintain sanity. And dreaming is among the surest ways to free the soul. The deep desire of the spirit is the reason that you are here. Therefore it pays to put forth some effort in deepening your understanding of your mission, and much effort towards accomplishing the said mission.
How to get the most from your Dreams
To get the most from your dreams, it is necessary to develop the correct perspective on the value of your dreams. If you hold that your dreams are just random images with little meaning, then you will unfortunately miss out on one of the most valuable tools for evolving your consciousness. If, on the other hand, you hold a deep respect for the immense potential value that your dreams offer you in the way of completing your earthly mission, then you have the right attitude to proceed with yoga nidra.
One should reserve 15-30 minutes of meditation time before and after sleeping. Before retiring, the night-time meditation prepares your body, mind and spirit for the change that is about to take place. The body and the mind will be giving up their control for the time being. The soul will be taking a “voyage” without the limitations imposed by the physical world. The time spent meditating immediately prior to launching this voyage will create alpha brain waves, which get the dream off to a healthy start and usually result in more serene, revealing dreams as compared to the chaotic dreams that often follow “normal” activities like watching TV or listening to the radio.
What Happens While You Dream?
When you lay your body down to sleep, your mind goes with it. In fact, your body and mind go everywhere together. These two are married. That is to say that they are connected ‘until death’. But this marriage is not complete without the soul. In fact, this ‘third member’ should be considered the most important part of the marriage. Unfortunately, the soul is often considered a ‘third wheel’ in the ultra-exclusive relationship between body and mind. The soul is ignored during all waking hours. To keep the Universe in balance, the body and mind necessarily must lay down together so that the soul can ‘fly solo’ for a while. During this solo flight, the soul is unrestrained by the normal limitations of the body. There is no logistical problem in getting from place to place, and there is no lineal time. This means that in a 5-minute nap, your soul can have the experience of having traveled to another continent (and maybe even another planet!). To get a similar experience that includes the body would require first buying a ticket, driving to the airport (or rocket launch site), hours of waiting, hours of flying… time and money and the coordinated effort of many people! But despite the great cost of the voyage, the benefit is usually greater than the cost. Claiming such an experience in a 5-minute siesta sounds to me like the epitome of efficiency!
The Healthiest Sleep-Wake Cycle
Yoga Nidra Postcard
The healthiest relationship between your dream state and your waking state is that one is a continuation of the other. Imagine a dolphin swimming near the surface of the ocean towards the sunrise… the dolphin may jump in and out of the water but the overall direction is fairly consistent. Compare this against a circular system where the dolphin jumps out of the water towards the sunrise then switches directions upon re-entering the water. This dolphin exerts the same energy but does not advance. Such is also the case for humans that spend their days not following their dreams.
Yoga Nidra es el Yoga de los Sueños, es decir la práctica de trabajar con los sueños para avanzar en la evolución consciente de uno y la propia misión terrenal. Yoga Nidra es una de las formas de yoga menos conocidas pero más poderosas. Muy pocas escuelas de yoga enseñan el yoga nidra, ya sea porque no es rentable hacerlo (la práctica se hace normalmente de forma gratuita en la casa del yogui) o porque el profesor de yoga tiene poca o ninguna experiencia con esta práctica.
Soñar es la clave para el buen dormir
Se dice que dormir repone y conserva energía y nos protega del daño nocturno. Pero podemos aprender a conservar y reponer nuestra energía durante el día, y sin duda podemos mantenerse alejados de daños, mediante la eliminación de los malos hábitos que conducen a la enfermedad. Pero aun asi solemos necesitar dormir. ¿Por qué? La necesidad de dormir tiene que ver con los sueños.
Si usted duerme por un tiempo razonable, y sin embargo, todavía se siente cansado, usted podria resolver este problema aprendiendo a trabajar con sus sueños (Yoga Nidra). Si usted no duerme lo suficiente, entonces es muy probable que le hacen falta los beneficios inestimables de soñar.
Sin embargo, los estudios, los artículos y los libros sobre dormir con frecuencia subestiman o ignoran la importancia de soñar. La mayoría de los estudios relacionados con el sueño se centrarán en datos cuantificables como el número de horas o de minutos uno duerme, o la liberación de ciertas hormonas como la melatonina, el cortisol, la hormona del crecimiento humano (HGH) y la serotonina. Ningún estudio que yo conozco ha considerado adecuadamente la importancia de soñar. Tal vez por una buena razón: el valor del sueño es inconmensurable!
La Trinidad Divina en Ti
En términos religiosos, la Trinidad Divina es una entidad triple, es decir tres seres en uno. Los conceptos clave son la unidad y la sinergia. Lo mismo debe ser cierto para el cuerpo, mente y alma. No sólo forman una sola entidad “triple”, pero la suma es de hecho mayor que las partes. Si estas ” tres partes” no reconocen el uno al otro y no trabajen juntas, entonces tu vida carecerá de paz, armonía y un profundo sentimiento de éxito.
Soñar y la Libertad Espiritual
Los sueños pueden aportar conciencia, la cual es útil en el cumplimiento de la propia misión en la tierra. Mientras sueñas, tu espíritu es libre de adquirir conciencia. Por el contrario, mientras estás despierto, puede ser que tu espíritu normalmente cede a un cerebro exigente y un cuerpo obediente, dispuesto a perseguir cada uno de los caprichos del cerebro.
La libertad del espíritu es indispensable para mantener la cordura. Y el sueño es una de las maneras más seguras para liberar el alma. El profundo deseo del espíritu es la razón por la que estás aquí. Por lo tanto, vale la pena poner algún esfuerzo en profundizar tu comprensión de tu misión, y mucho esfuerzo hacia el cumplimiento de dicha misión.
¿Cómo obtener el máximo provecho de sus Sueños
Para sacar el máximo provecho de tus sueños, es necesario desarrollar la perspectiva correcta sobre el valor de los mismos. Si mantienes que tus sueños son sólo imágenes al azar con poco significado, entonces lamentablemente perderás una de las herramientas más valiosas para la evolución de tu conciencia. Si, por el contrario, mantienes un profundo respeto por el valor potencial inmenso que tus sueños te ofrecen para completar tu misión en la tierra, entonces tienes la actitud correcta para proceder con el Yoga Nidra.
Debes reservar 15 a 30 minutos para meditar antes y después de dormir. Antes de retirarte, la meditación nocturna prepara el cuerpo, la mente y el espíritu para el cambio que viene. El cuerpo y la mente renunciarán su control por el momento. El alma tomará un “viaje ” sin las limitaciones impuestas por el mundo físico. El tiempo dedicado a la meditación inmediatamente antes de iniciar tal viaje creará unas ondas cerebrales alfa, las cuales ayudarán que el primer sueño sea más sereno y mas revelador, en comparación con los sueños caóticos que a menudo siguen las actividades “normales” como ver la televisión o escuchar la radio.
¿Qué sucede mientras sueña ?
Cuando pones tu cuerpo a dormir, tu mente va con el. De hecho, el cuerpo y la mente van juntos a todas partes. Estos dos son casados. Es decir que están conectados ‘hasta la muerte’. Pero este matrimonio no es completo sin el alma. De hecho, este “tercer miembro” debe ser considerado la parte más importante del matrimonio. Por desgracia, el alma es a menudo considerada una “tercera rueda” en la relación ultra-exclusiva entre el cuerpo y la mente. El alma se ignora durante todas las horas del dia. Para mantener el universo en equilibrio, el cuerpo y la mente necesariamente habrán de acostarse juntos para que el alma puede ‘volar solo’ por un tiempo. Durante este viaje, el alma es desenfrenada por las limitaciones normales del cuerpo. No hay ningún problema logístico para llegar de un lugar a otro, y no hay tiempo lineal. Esto significa que en una siesta de 5 minutos, el alma puede tener la experiencia de haber viajado a otro continente (y incluso otro planeta!). Para obtener una experiencia similar que incluye el cuerpo requeriría comprar primero un billete, conducir hasta el aeropuerto (o en el sitio de lanzamiento de cohetes), horas de espera, horas de vuelo… el tiempo, el dinero y el esfuerzo coordinado de mucha gente! Pero a pesar del alto costo de la travesía, el beneficio es generalmente mayor que el costo. Reproducir una experiencia similar en 5 minutos de siesta es el pico de la eficiencia!
El ciclo más saludable Dia-Noche
Tarjeta Yoga Nidra
La relación más sana entre el estado de sueño y el estado de vigilia es que uno es la continuación del otro. Imagina un delfín nadando cerca de la superficie del mar hacia el amanecer… el delfín puede saltar dentro y fuera del agua, manteniendo su dirección general. Compare esto contra un sistema circular donde el delfín salta fuera del agua hacia el amanecer y luego cambia su direcciones al entrar nuevamente en el agua. Este delfín ejerce la misma energía, pero no avanza. Tal es también el caso de los seres humanos que pasan sus días ignorando sus sueños.
Today we say good-bye to a remarkable man, a talented healer and a wise teacher. Doctor David John Carmos had devoted a great part of his life to studying and teaching the healing ways of Jesus and the Essenes, an ancient mystical Jewish sect that is most famous for having written The Dead Sea Scrolls.
According to historians, the Essenes may have lived about three times longer than their contemporaries, owing to their clean, vegetarian, disciplined and loving lifestyle. The Essenes were known to adopt abandoned children and care for them greatly. Doctor David became a Bishop of the Essene order.
While returning from a mission in Brazil, he was wrongly imprisoned in Mexico. While serving his ten-year sentence, David performed more than 18,000 treatments… word had traveled throughout Mexico and people in need of healing would line up outside the penitentiary. In his spare time, David penned 12 of his 15 books.
I recently had the good fortune to meet one of David’s students and closest friends, Dr. Shawn C. Miller, who is himself remarkable, disciplined and wise. I am especially thankful to Dr. Miller for gifting me with the book The Essene Master: Gospel of Healing, which was the first book published following David’s release from prison. The book, masterfully written in meter and rhyme, is divided in nine parts.
The following is an excerpt from part one of The Essene Master:
The Spirit of God is seen in the Path of every way,
in the falling of the rain, in the sprouting of a seed,
in the snowflake, in the wave,
and in the breaking of the day.
The Spirit in its various forms
is felt in the light of the full moon,
in the glow of the evening stars,
in the fog of the clouds,
in the cool warm of the sunset,
and in the dampness that makes the dew wet,
in the color of a flower,
in the wave crest’s awesome power,
in the ability of wild oats themselves to sew,
in the magic of a mustard seed, within itself to grow,
within a flock of sheep,
the knowledge of a ewe its young to know,
in the softness of a springtime breeze,
in the society of a hive of bees,
in the intricacy of a spider’s web,
in the recession of a tide at the new moons ebb,
in the river rapids constant flow,
in the presence that makes a toothless baby’s smile glow,
in the thunder and lightning of the first storm of spring,
and in the voice of the nightingale when it sings.
I am grateful to David for his wise words and the beautiful example that was his life on Earth. I will leave you with the following excerpt from part four of The Essene Master, as it is especially appropriate in saying goodbye to a beloved friend:
Life is our opportunity to experience and
to grow according to a certain plan
and when we have exhausted this earthly shell,
then we complete another life’s span.
Then enters death, which in reality
is no enemy of man,
but another opportunity
to in other ways grow and expand.
Death is but the knife which cuts the cord
that anchors the human ship to Earth,
that it might sail the oceans of the spirit world,
until it finds a new port, to experience another birth.
When a soul and body go their separate ways,
which is a time of growth and rest,
then the spirit enters on another phase;
somewhat like leaving an old cow loose in a field,
to stand in the warmth of the sun and graze.
The calls of death are always for the best,
for we are solving further dilemmas there,
as well as continuing on our spiritual quest.
Dr. William Horatio Bates was an ophthalmologist who developed a natural method for better eyesight. The Bates Method is essentially Yoga for the eyes. Bates was adamant that using lenses to correct vision problems would inevitably lead to a worsening of the problem. Instead he prescribed a series of gentle stretches and other soft excercises, coupled with appropriate rest. Doing these excercises would conveniently correct a host of eye conditions from myopia (or nearsightedness) to diplopia (double-vision). Although you can no longer consult directly with Dr. Bates (unfortunately, he left us on July 10, 1931) you can speak with your friends and with your doctors about Dr. Bates’ startling discovery.Dr William Bates
Dr. William Horatio Bates era oftalmologista, que desenvolveu um método para melhorar a visão naturalmente.
O Método Bates é essencialmente Yoga para os olhos. Bates foi convencido que usar óculos para corrigir problemas de visão inevitavelmente causar um agravamento do problema. Ele prescrita uma série de trechos suaves e exercícios, juntamente com o descanso adequado. Siga o protocolo seria capaz de corrigir as condições de visão de miopia a diplopia (visão dupla).
Apesar de não poder falar diretamente ao Dr. Bates (ele morreu em 10 de julho de 1931) você pode falar com seus conhecidos e seus médicos sobre sua descoberta valiosa.
By popular demand, this page contains hundreds of yoga poses. Katherine, Laura, Gina, Clarice and Heather are seasoned professionals performing some advanced moves, so please be prudent and find a qualified instructor before attempting to duplicate the tougher poses that you see here. The other ladies are not models but rather ambitious students that hope to inspire others to find their way to wellness through yoga. The asanas will in fact help your physical, mental and emotional health. If your energy becomes blocked, there is a specific asana to remove the blockage.
YOU are beautiful.
The human body is beautiful indeed. But the human spirit is even more beautiful. It just so happens that the spirit doesn’t photograph as easily as the body does. Yoga asanas are highly artistic. Sometimes a particular yoga asana may accentuate the natural beauty of the human body. Please feel free to enjoy the artistic expression of these instructors or students, without placing too much importance on their physical shape. It is unnecessary to have a perfect figure for one to be perfectly-happy and wonderfully-well.
In this video, Dean Ornish discusses a number of big issues. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity are huge killers that are entirely preventable through diet and lifestyle.
Loneliness and depression are also large-scale problems that make people much more likely to smoke, drink, overeat, overwork, get sick and die early. The simple treatment is anything that promotes intimacy: friendship, altruism, compassion and service are just some examples.
A study by David Spiegle of Stanford was published in The Lancet. The randomized study examined the survival rates of breast cancer patients. Those that formed a support group, meeting just one hour per week had twice the survival rate after five years.
Ornish credits his yoga teacher with isolating the key difference between illness and wellness:
Martial Arts and Yoga are two popular systems that go beyond physical exercise to encompass mental and physical exercises, cultivating balance and generating consciousness. Both systems are based on the timeless principle of observing and controlling the flow of energy. A true master of martial arts and/or yoga is a master of living. Sadly, many modern schools go overboard on the specific techniques and foreign jargon, such that students feel they cannot become masters. This is the exact opposite of what should be done.
Grand Master Albert Mady
If you spend some time observing a master like Albert Mady, it will change your life for the better. Albert is a true master of his own style of mixed martial arts including Isshinryu Karate, Muay Thai and tameshiwari, wherein he converts himself to dynamite and explodes through and pulverizes concrete like it were a vanilla wafer. Mady’s full contact, bare-knuckle kickboxing class is a mix of women and men and there are classes for kids. Mady is equally committed to his world-champion students and the regular people wanting to learn life-saving self-defense techniques. And the lives he has saved are many. Despite his innumerable honors and achievements, he remains down-to-earth, extremely generous, and a loyal friend to many. In my book that makes him a yoga master too. He has trained many bodies, and many minds to follow the invincible spirit at the heart of every student.
Yoga
Yoga is oneness. It is the reality inside you and in the entire universe at the same time. It is not necessary to “do something” to unite the universe. All that appears to be separated, is in fact connected, and always has been connected. The last stage of human evolution is to recognize this truth…when you discover oneness in your own heart, then you will automatically act in accordance with this consciousness. Yoga is the key to real, lasting freedom… from needless pain, from useless worries, from pointless repetition.
The Benefits of Yoga
Recognizing Yoga (oneness) offers physical, mental and spiritual benefits. Among the physical benefits are, a stronger, more toned and more balanced body that is free of pain. I have frequently applied yoga techniques to address the root cause (thereby initiating the reversal of symptoms) of the following conditions: stomach acid, cancer,heart problems, anemia, arthritis,asthma,backache, cold, cough, constipation,diabetes, insomnia, migraines, obesity and other conditions. As for the mental benefits, yoga eliminates stress and leaves you relaxed so that you can live and sleep in peace. Yoga’s spiritual benefit refers to the individual’s finding of her or his “earthly mission” such that the body and mind can work harmoniously to fulfill the deepest desires of the spirit, those of love and unity and lasting joy.
Yoga
Simply joining a yoga class is unlikely to give you this result. But yoga’s benefits are well within your reach! Commit yourself to searching internally, and you will surely find within yourself that which limits your holistic advancement. Others, such as your doctor, or perhaps a yoga instructor or a healer, may help you remove the impediment, and it is certainly possible to remove it on your own, without assistance. But this phrase “without assistance” should not be taken too literally. For if you always select “I” over “we“, then you’ll select illness over wellness.
Un video inspirador en ingles. No hace falta escuchar las palabras para sentir el poder transformativo del yoga y de creer en si mismo. Un hombre ex-militar sobrepeso y incapaz de caminar aprende a correr nuevamente.
