YOGA FOR CHILDREN?

YOGA FOR CHILDREN? YES!

Why yoga for children? Ten years ago, that question was most likely asked about martial arts. Now there are classes for children at martial arts studios around every corner. And, like martial arts, yoga develops many wonderful qualities in children. In addition to the obvious benefits of exercising the physical body, both sharpen the child's ability to focus and give self-confidence and self-discipline. And yoga, practiced regularly, helps children become aware of themselves from the inside out. From this awareness, children can change and grow in new and positive directions.

More and more professionals who work with children with autism, special needs, sensory integration, learning disabilities and ADD/ADHD are being trained to teach children's yoga--and with great results. Yoga is a natural for children, since it addresses the whole child, including the brain/body connection.

In my twentysome years of teaching children's yoga, I never fail to delight in the self-discoveries that children make through yoga. Children are so fresh and unhampered by the dictates of society. Their approach to life is unique. And yoga encourages their creativity to flow; their fears, anger and sadness to release; their trust in the inner self to shine; and their minds and hearts to be in synch.

If there is one thing I learned in my years of experience as a Montessori teacher, it is this: Children are capable of much more than we think they are, and if given the right environment they will excel beyond our belief. In l982 I started a small Montessori school in Baltimore. In my cozy little school I applied this understanding to teaching children yoga. Their creative, innocent selves expressed such simple truth that I realized I was learning as much from them as they were from me. The reality became this: I gave them the tools of awareness, and they expressed their awareness with such clarity and wisdom that within me was born a deep respect for them. Quite often they have shown themselves to be my teachers!

Recently I was teaching yoga to a group of children between the ages of four and seven. They flexed their spines in cat and cow, mooing and meowing enthusiastically; stretched into cobra, hissing all the while; balanced on their bottoms, holding their legs up in lotus flower pose; and focused as fierce warriors in archer pose. The active yoga exercises were followed by a deep relaxation, on their backs with arms and legs straight but relaxed. In this particular class, I guided the children in a visualization in which they imagined they were lying on a warm, sandy beach. As they breathed in they imagined the waves of the ocean coming up to the shore. On the out breath, the waves returned to the sea. As I looked around the room at the various children, I noticed that each of them seemed to have internalized these images in such a way that they were profoundly relaxed--even more so than if they were in a deep sleep. They were consciously relaxing, bringing their minds and bodies together to achieve a peaceful awareness of inner space. This state is the basis for the practice of yoga and meditation. And it is the basis for a happy, peaceful life. The inner experience of yoga gave these children a gift they can never lose, because it will be within them all the time.

After our relaxation, we sang a song together--me strumming my autoharp and they singing with gusto. The song instructed: "You can make the sun shine any old time, Even when the clouds are there." We sang for a while, then I asked, " Does anybody have an idea what this song means?" One five-year-old girl answered immediately, "It means that even when things are not so good, you still have the sunshine in your heart, and you can make things better!" Need I say more?

How can you introduce your child to yoga? There are many resources for learning yoga, several of which focus on children's yoga. My book, Fly Like A Butterfly, is a resource that is simple enough for those who know next to nothing about yoga. It offers instruction on learning yoga poses, deep relaxation and meditation. Parents have expressed appreciation for its playful manner--its presentation of actively moving exercises balanced with those that require stillness and inner concentration, all in a child-friendly way.

Tips for Doing Yoga with Your Children

1. Create a special time of the day for yoga with your child. Take some time in the morning or evening and follow it with a deep relaxation.
   
2. Make a "sacred space." Use a small table or cover a box with a cloth. Decorate it with pictures and objects that have special
   meaning for your child. Use a candle for focus during a medi-
   tative yoga time.
   
3. To begin, sit with your child on the floor with legs crossed and eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths to quiet your mind and tune in to your inner guidance.
   
4. How long to do yoga? With preschoolers, 10 to 15 minutes is a good start. Each exercise should last 30 seconds to one minute. You can increase the time as they get used to it and develop the ability to stay focused. Elementary-age children can easily practice yoga for 20 minutes, including a few minutes of deep relaxation and perhaps a few minutes of meditation. Of course, each individual child is different. You will know best what your child's capacity is. Remember, it is better to start simply and build gradually.
   
5. F-U-N. Those three letters that are so important! Entice your child with interesting, imaginative, engaging exercises. Challenge them, for example, by using a timer ("Let's see how long you can stay up in that pose with deep breathing!"). Use your intuition and light-hearted humor rather than your intellect to motivate them.

You might feel that you would like to have a teacher for you and your child. Many yoga centers are beginning to offer classes for children. You will find that the techniques and styles of yoga differ greatly from one center to the next, so explore and ask questions. Good luck, and get ready for lots of pleasant surprises, fun and great blessings from yoga!

thankyou........

Kids Yoga: A Solution to Global Obesity in Children

As Suspected, Everything Makes Kids Fat
Somehow, I think we’ve all known this for a very long time: everything – yes, EVERYTHING – is making kids fat.

A short list:

Food
Diet food
And drink
Lack of exercise
TV
TV commercials
Their mothers
Their moms
Their mamas
Mommy
Mom’s minivan
Cupcakes
Some virus
And really, much, much more.

Two topics that most people are tired of hearing about are obesity and childhood obesity. The problem is we will not find solutions for these problems if we “bury our heads in the sand.” Kids Yoga is a viable solution to obesity in children, but this requires schools and parents to take action now.

Obesity has crept up on all age groups quickly; children in some countries need to change their lifestyles immediately. If not, there will be serious health repercussions that will shake our health systems and fragile economies.

How did massive numbers of obesity get here? How can less physical activity in children be acceptable? How could Kids Yoga be a solution?

Parents today have less buying power than our parents had. Many children are shifted from school to day care, while both parents are working extra hours to support the family. Many of today’s meals are composed of processed foods -whether they are store-bought, or bought for takeout, from a restaurant.

Physical education has suffered serious cutbacks since the “Cold War” ended. Back in the 1970’s, and before, children ran and played outside more often.

The Yoga lifestyle helps parents and children manage diet in a very busy and stressful world. If you are conscious of it, there are wiser food choices, even from restaurants. When children practice Yoga, they become much more aware of their diet, posture, activities, and daily exercise routine.

Educators, doctors, Yoga teachers, and parents cannot afford to wait until the next study on childhood obesity is completed to take action. Children are bigger than ever, due to inactivity and a high fat / carbohydrate diet. Large numbers of big children will become even bigger adults, who are at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, various forms of cancer, and much more.

Therefore, educators, doctors, Yoga teachers, and parents must be proactive. Do not expect grant money, government assistance, or any help from “big brother.” Look at the reaction to global warming by the world’s governments and you see how long it takes to get a reaction.

For parents with school-aged children, there has never been a better time for them to attend Yoga classes. Children consider Yoga an extension of other games and exercises they would normally do. Children will naturally jump, roll on the ground, run, and spin around, in the course of playing with their friends.

With proper supervision from a certified Yoga teacher, children learn what they can and cannot do. Kids Yoga classes teach safe Hatha Yoga techniques for flexibility, strength and muscle tone.

If a child is obese, parents should not expect instant miracles with weight loss, and parents would do well to learn the practice of Hatha Yoga. In this way, parents and children will both be aware of proper dieting and a much healthier lifestyle.

Treating Obesity Through Yoga

According to yoga, our present lifestyle is one of the most important factors behind all kinds of mental and physical illness. In obesity, lifestyle is the determining factor. Even though yoga acknowledges other etiological factors, it is believed that the way we live our lives is what really determines our susceptibility to the different causes of disease, whether physical, chemical or infectious agents, immunological reactions, genetic, environmental or nutritional imbalances.

In the case of obesity, it is clear that the main causes are related to lifestyle. The first cause is overeating. The second is decreased physical activity, which means that there is an imbalance in the amount of energy we take in and the amount we expend. To become obese, therefore, we have to consume more calories than we actually need for our requirements and daily activities. (A calorie is a unit of heat. It represents the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of seven kg of water by one degree Centigrade. This unit of heat is used to study the metabolism of the body. We need an average of 2000 calories per day for our essential functions.)

Causes of weight gain

A person of normal weight takes a diet which is sufficient to sustain daily activities without storing energy in the form of fat tissue. Putting on weight, however, means there has been a change in our lifestyle that is conducive to storing energy (calories) in the form of fat tissue. These changes can include moving from an active lifestyle to a more sedentary one, changes in diet, increased consumption of fats, sugars and other foodstuffs that contain 'empty calories'. Processed foods are termed as empty calories because they are without other nutrients like proteins, vitamins and minerals, although they contain readily available energy that can be digested, absorbed and assimilated with less effort. Other changes may be a disease or an accident that makes us reduce our activity, but we continue eating as if we were as healthy and active as before the incident. This will result in storage of extra energy in the form of fat tissues in our bodies.

All these changes make us gain weight, and we remain with that extra weight, creating a new cycle in life where inactivity, which was probably the cause, turns out to be the effect. Obesity actually leads to further inactivity, and this in turn leads to more obesity. It has also been observed through research on obese patients that the metabolism becomes more efficient at using less calories (energy) to perform the body's normal functions. The daily energy expenditure depends on the energy needed for the basic activities that take place in the body to keep us alive and balanced, such as when we are completely resting, when we are fully active like during exercise, during digestion, absorption, metabolism and storage of food stuff.

This more efficient energy pathway in the obese individual seems to be related to the metabolism of sugars (the main source of energy in the body) where the sugar needed as a source of energy is not easily available due to an insulin resistance in the obese tissues. (Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas which is in charge of controlling the blood-sugar level and the assimilation of sugar by the tissues of the body.) This makes the body store more energy and use less.

Effects of weight gain

Another very important aspect to be considered by the obese person is that the accumulation of fat does not take place on the exterior (the subcutaneous deposit of fat) alone but the fatty tissue is also deposited around the internal organs and the intramuscular space. This means that vital organs like the heart, liver and kidneys are also surrounded by fat tissues increasing the effort made and work done by these organs. The extra fat in our muscular tissue makes it more difficult for our bodies to be fully active.

Finally, the obese body provides the perfect soil for diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, gall bladder disease, atherosclerosis, and many other imbalances to grow. Furthermore, psychological imbalances and complexes also arise due to obesity which limit the range of expression and make life less enjoyable. So, by controlling the extra weight factor, we can avoid the risk of developing many physical and mental disorders.

Yogic concept of diet

In the system of yoga, the physical body is called annamaya kosha or the food sheath. The word annam means that which is eaten, adayte, and that which eats is atti. Therefore, food is the essence of the physical body and for the same reason, food is also medicine for the body. Food can be considered as vitality on the gross level, because life actually comes from food. Life is sustained by food and, in the end, all life again becomes food for further life and the cycle of creation continues.

According to yoga, food is not only what we consume during our meals and digest in our alimentary system; it is also the nourishment that sustains life. For example, food nourishes or feeds our thoughts and speech, feelings and relationships with ourselves and others. In the Mandukya Upanishad, the lord of the waking state is called Vaishvanara. The material objects of creation are enjoyed by him through his nineteen mouths, which are described as the five tanmatras or subtle senses, five gyanendriyas or sense organs, five karmendriyas or organs of action, and four aspects of antahkarana, or the internal organ of mind. These are the nineteen mouths by which we receive nourishment in life.

So, when we speak of obesity in yoga, we refer not only to the physical body, but to all the aspects of our being and the way in which we nourish and mobilize them. For this reason, it is said that in order to maintain normal body weight, it is not enough to treat the body by special diets, changes in lifestyle or becoming a sportsman. It is also necessary to work on the level of consciousness, which is the mental energy, and on the other aspects which are instrumental to this power or energy. The science of yoga is a scientific system for developing our body/mind instrument for the expression of consciousness.

Yoga therapy – asana

Therefore, in yoga therapy, we do not exercise the body for the sake of burning extra calories, but to develop body awareness, to understand the language of our body, the way it works, and what suits it best. From this understanding, we can modify or adjust our diet and lifestyle to suit the needs of our body and mind. Even though the aim of yoga is not just reduction of weight, this is bound to happen as an outcome of our increased self-awareness. However, we must be sincere and honest with ourselves and allow our awareness to develop in a positive and constructive manner. As long as we are motivated by selfish and negative intentions, this method will not work. This means that we should not use yoga to feel guilty about ourselves, or to punish our bodies or to suppress our minds. Yoga should be used as a form of self-expression, helping our body/mind complex flow freely.

In yoga therapy the body is the instrument, not the end; it is the means, not the aim. So, it is not just the techniques that are important, but also the attitude with which we undertake them, how disciplined and regular we are in the practice.

The best asanas for obesity are the Pawanamuktasana series for the digestive system which help to remove extra fat from the abdomen, hips and thighs, and activate the energy in the lower pranic centers. These include: utthanpadasana (raised leg position), chakrapadasana (leg rotation) pada sanchalana (cycling) and naukasana (boat pose). These practices are very good for strengthening the abdominal muscles which are usually very flaccid in the obese patient. It also helps burn the extra fat tissue of the omentum which is a fold of peritoneum, in the abdomen, very rich in fat tissue.

The practices from the Shakti Bandha series are also effective in reducing obesity. Asanas like gatyatmak meru vakrasana (dynamic spinal twist), chakki chalana (churning the mill), and nauka sanchalana (rowing the boat), massage the abdominal organs and help mobilize the extra fat tissue stored around them. These practices also help to eliminate energy blockages in the abdominal/pelvic area and to release the power of the manipura chakra, the source of willpower and self-assertiveness, (which is often weak in the obese patient) and that governs all our metabolic processes.

From the vajrasana series, we can also choose some helpful asanas such as vajrasana (thunderbolt pose) itself, marjariasana (cat-stretch pose), vyaghrasana (tiger pose), shashankasana (pose of the moon), shashank-bhujangasana (striking cobra pose) and ushtrasana (camel pose), all of which are very powerful for toning the sexual organs and balancing the sexual energy which is often depleted in the obese individual. They also help to strengthen the digestive and endocrine system.

The dynamic series known as surya namaskara (salutation to the sun) is most important for the treatment of obesity. Surya namskara is a complete practice in itself because it includes asana, pranayama, mantra and meditation. This practice has a unique influence on the endocrine and nervous system, helping to correct metabolic imbalances that cause and perpetuate obesity. Being a dynamic practice, it is also an excellent exercise equated to cycling, jogging or swimming.

The pranayama practices recommended for obesity are also the more dynamic forms which stimulate the metabolism. These include:bha strika, kapalbhati and suryabheda, which are performed along with balancing practices like nadi shodhan and ujjayi. Sheetali and sheetkari are relaxing, cooling practices which influence different hypothalamic centres which give control over thirst and the feeling of satisfaction with healthy quantities and qualities of food.

The other hatha yoga practices which are most helpful in obesity are the shatkarmas, or internal cleansing techniques. These include: shankhaprakshalana (cleansing of the entire alimentary canal, laghu (short) shankhaprakshalana, kunjal (cleaning practice for the stomach), and neti (cleansing of the nasal passages). These practices clean our body internally and keep it free from pollutants which are absorbed from the air, food and water. If done regularly, they also balance our bodily rhythms at a subtle level. The shatkarmas also help to balance our emotions and produce a feeling of lightness and satisfaction with our body. After performing the practice, we feel as if the body/mind system is rid of extra weight, physically as well as mentally.

One of the most important meditation practices for obesity is antar mouna or inner silence. This is a technique of pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) that helps to clean the mind of extra weight in the form of toxic thoughts and underlying mental patterns, that tend to be vicious and self-perpetuating. These thoughts manifest physically in the form of passivity or lack of activity and food habits that sustain obesity, and create an imbalance in the energy-saving and accumulating system.

Change from within

In yoga, the real therapy begins with self-awareness. Then only can we make the necessary changes in our internal environment, without external intervention. This is the only way we can modify our lifestyle and give it a new direction. The true motivation for change arises within when we realize for ourself what our body/mind system requires in order to rebalance itself. This self-motivation gives us confidence in our own ability to heal and to bring the process to completion. Whereas, treatments imposed from outside, are only effective as long as the therapist or therapy is there to intervene.

When we are unaware of our own healing potential, then we are ready to try every new diet that comes onto the market as the ultimate panacea, only to experience a new frustration. This doesn't mean that diets don't work or that our doctor is not good enough, but that our mental attitude becomes a blockage for any good effect to take place. However, as we work on ourself through the process of yoga therapy, we develop our own understanding of what diet is best for our condition or which exercises we should perform. The changes which we make in our behaviour, habits and lifestyle, can never be maintained unless they are supported by the realization of what our real needs, strengths and weaknesses are. This will help us to develop greater self-confidence, and the changes thus implemented will last lifelong.

Note: For the proper understanding and performance of the practices here recommended you need the guidance of experienced yoga teacher. Please do not attempt any without this guidance

Thankyou.....

Dahn Yoga: A Unique Korean Style of Yoga

Heard about Dahn Yoga? Want to know something about the practice? Well, Dahn is said to be one of the most unique styles of yoga. It has been around for a number of years now and has been considered throughout the industry as a holistic approach to health.
The Dahn Yoga originated from a Korean practice of educating people on how to develop a great mind and body. Following its inception, this Korean practice was transmitted to other generations and races by several wise men. It is sad to know, however, that the Korean had failed to keep the practice of Dahn alive. It is now becoming popular in the United States where hundreds of people are now practicing the Dahn Yoga.

Just like the rest of the yoga practices, Dahn has its own purposes. On the most basic, it is practiced and maintained by its proponents to help people manage their own bodies to become healthy. It is for this purpose that Dahn Yoga has made their approach to health truly worth considering by developing tools that are sure to foster an ultimate wellbeing.
There are a number of benefits associated to Dahn Yoga. The most well-known is weight management. According to several claims, the practice involves a set of exercises that can improve the circulation in the body and metabolism. This effect in turn will cause calories to burn, giving the body a chance to lose pounds.

The Dahn Yoga is also noted for its effect on the physical fitness of an individual. Claims have it that if you are practicing the technique, you will feel an enhanced strength and stamina. You will also discover how flexible you are.

Aside from that, the Dahn Yoga is also said to be highly potent for alleviating stress and tension in the body. This is made possible for the reason that this type of yoga involves breathing and relaxation method that are designed to make you relax and free from stress. In addition, the practice will make you feel younger as your blood circulation is improved and the stresses are released from your system. This is also what makes the Dahn Yoga a perfect option if you want to go out and face the world refreshed and highly revitalized.

Today, several recent findings have revealed that Dahn Yoga can also heal certain diseases as the exercises involved are highly powerful for enhancing the healing power of your system. The practice simply involves sorts of stretching, meditation, breathing, relaxation techniques, energy work, and some forms of martial arts. All of these are incorporated into one system for Dahn to fully provide a holistic effect that is beyond compare.

Tantra Yoga

Overview

A kind of primordial religious practice that originated in India which is considered to have esoteric roots, tantra yoga is a group of Asian beliefs based on the principle that this world human beings are living in is a concrete representation of divine powers. This ancient spiritual practice further states that the godhead is the one responsible in maintaining the universe that seeks to distribute the energies within the microcosm of man..
Individuals who observe tantra yoga are under the direction of a guru. There
are various tools being used in the process of this primordial religious practice. Bodily control is one which is vital in realizing the methods of connecting one's self with the ethereal. Other elements include deity visualization and mantra verbalization which can be both actuated by speaking the authority as if existing. Internalization then is very essential in performing this ancient spiritual routine.
Philosophy
Tantra yoga is founded on the huge collection of shrutis, canon of the sacred texts of the Hindu religion. This primordial religious practice exists in forms of Shaiva, Vaisnava and Shakta.

Shaiva is a branch of Hinduism that gives praises to a god named Bhagawan. This classification is a non- dual pious custom that deems the entirety of creation is a manifestation of something celestial present
Vaisnava is a branch of Hinduism that gives praises to a god named Vishnu. This classification is generally monotheistic while incorporating some aspects of panentheistic with the principles that are grounded on Puranic accounts

Shakta is a branch of Hinduism that gives praises to a god named Shakti. This classification conceives the great goddess Mahadevi as the epitome of primeval power and the foundation of cosmic evolution.
Evolution
According to tantra yoga, being overly aware with the state of bliss has the ability of self- development. This primordial religious practice regards the progress of reality into a diversity of creatures at similar end but still remains to be in sheer consciousness. It further states that "illusion" hides "actuality" which separates into opposites such as favorable and unfavorable or pleasant and unpleasant, among the others.
The conditions then bound the person acting as if being hampered and made to conduct like a fauna specie. This ancient spiritual routine relays that the "outgoing current" is only half of the operational "illusion." The "returning current" then takes Jiva, immortal spirit of man, back to the roots of "actuality." This classification is established on a maxim that goes, "one must rise by that by which one falls."
Thank You :-

yogic Diet......

It is said that our level of development, mental and spiritual, is reflected in the kind of food we eat and our stage of consciousness is revealed in the nature of that chosen food. Both yoga and ayurveda advice on a sattvic or a pure vegetarian diet. Such a diet, it is believed, encourages the development of the higher qualities of peace, love and spiritual awareness. Yoga and Ahimsa The basis of an ideal sattvic diet is the attitude of ahimsa or nonviolence. A sattvic or ascetic diet is first and foremost purely vegetarian, eschewing all such methods which involve the killing or harming of animals. In addition, a lot of emphasis is put on natural foods, i.e., foods grown in harmony with nature, on good soils, ripened naturally, cooked in the right manner and with the right attitude of love. Partaking of a diet such as this helps in the development of prana or vital energy and spiritual consciousness. Since the aim of a yogic diet is the development of air and ether elements (vata), it is best suited not only for detoxification of the body but also for widening the parameters of our mind (according to both yoga and ayurveda, the mind is basically composed of vata elements). And for the same reason, die-hard yogis recommend raw food coupled with frequent fasts. They believe that a reduction in the body ultimately results in the expansion and development of the mind—increasing detachment and lowering our physical consciousness while raising the spiritual counterpart. Nonviolent yogic diets consider not only the doshas or the ayurvedic humors of vata, pitta and kapha but also the role of prana. Good raw foods, such as cucumbers, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts, cilantro, parsley together with spices like ginger, cayenne, cinnamon and basil, flushes both the mind and the body with pranic energy. Traditionally, raw foods, grains and dairy products are used for cleansing the nadis or the channels of the subtle body because they bring with them an increase in prana. A combination of yogasana, pranayama, mantra, meditaion and a yogic diet works wonders for those intent on cleansing both the physical and the subtle body. Legends have it that the great yogis of yore lived on air and prana alone! But it is possible for slightly lesser mortals to live on water, a little fruit, milk and clarified butter (ghee) too.

Foods to Eat: • Fresh, sweet fruits of all types, preferably taken whole. • All vegetables except onions and garlic. • Whole grains, such as rice, wheat and oats. • Ideally beans like mung, aduki and tofu, other types in moderation. • Not overly roasted or salted nuts and seeds such as almonds, coconuts, walnuts, pecans and sesame. • Butter, ghee (clarified butter) and all good natural plant-based oils like sesame, olive and sunflower. • Dairy products like milk, ghee, yogurt and cottage cheese from dairy animals who've been treated well. • Natural sugars such as jaggery, honey, maple syrup and molasses. • Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, cumin, coriander, turmeric, mint, basil, fenugreek and other such sweet spices. • Herbal teas, natural water and fresh juices, particularly of the lemony kind. • Foods prepared with love and consciousness.

Foods to Avoid : • Meat, fish and eggs. • Artificial, processed and junk foods. • Canned food, except naturally canned fruits and tomatoes. • Animal fats, margarine and poor quality oils. • Factory farm dairy products. • Garlic, onions and other over-spiced food. • Fried food. • White sugar and white flour. • Artificial sweeteners. • Old, stale, over and reheated food. • Alcohol, tobacco and all other stimulants. • Tap water and artificial beverages. • Microwaved and irradiated food. • Genetically engineered food. • Foods eaten in a disturbed environment or eaten too quickly. THANKYOU........

YOGA&SPORTS

Yoga and sport are often seen in opposition, by nature of the quiet approach in yoga in contrast to the competitiveness of sport. In yoga we talk about practice, whereas in sport emphasis is placed upon training. What is most important however, is the attitude towards the development and the attainment of the individual's aim..........


1. Different attitudes in yoga and in sport

Over the years, I have too often observed amongst the sports enthusiasts and end-gaining yoga students alike, a certain degree of aggression and eagerness that unavoidably led them to punishing the body and molesting the soul. The result is a tightness of the joints, a shortening of the muscles and an overall disharmony between the inner self and the outer body.

In any given sport there is a strong element of competition. I have also observed a similar attitude amongst certain yoga students. There is nothing wrong about competition, provided that it is healthy and ethical. But the minute it creates stress and inner aggression, then it loses its noble value.

It is the attitude of mind that makes the difference.

One has to learn to detach from oneself in order to re-integrate oneself with the whole SELF. Winning becomes an achievement instead of a defeat over the opponent. Furthermore if one measures oneself to oneself, winning does not mean beating oneself into submission, but entering a little space of heaven.

Instead of using one's body to tame and master a posture and bring the body into submission, one should allow the space between the limbs to create natural movement and body form; in this way an organic action and not a rigid representation of a certain shape can be achieved. Such a space concept does not mean emptiness, but a living element from which the innermost structure of the SF.LF can be expressed.

2. The relationship between self and SELF

In the Western approach to bodily health each action creates a reaction in the body (and mind; 'The Eastern approach is to act without causing a reaction in the body or mind.

At Bisham Abbey National Snorts Centre near Marlow. Olympic teams are coached. I practice weight training, and teach Yoga at the Centre. Many of the people who I train with in the gymnasium exhaust themselves by making continuous strenuous effort without a break. As a yoga practitioner I balance my weight training with long period of quiet yoga practice. The result is that I come away feeling strong, light and calm.

On one occasion I was invited by the Sports Council to give a workshop for the Olympic gymnasts. Interestingly, they were much more able than I to get into certain postures, but their eagerness to achieve and master the postures was their shortcoming; they used repetitive force instead of progressive release. They experienced frustration where I would have experienced a fruitful obstacle and a surrender of the ego. I showed them how to observe, think, release and then to move in coordination with the breath. Something they had not considered in their training.

Most physical exercises are designed to strengthen the body; yoga builds strength in a non-aggressive and non-end-gaining manner. Yoga releases energy through a tensionless process, so that there is no wastage and misuse of precious inner power. It is that inner force that inspires a body to perform a yoga pose and not the extraverted will. Yoga teaches coordination of the movements of all the limbs from which emerges a sense of integrity and integration with the self and the breath. Out of that way of practising (and not training), grace and stamina develop with a resulting and unmistakable feeling of lightness and renewed energy.

3. Integrating yoga practice and sports training

The gymnasts, the weight trainer and the uninitiated yoga student should understand that a properly prepared and unabused body will always enjoy different moves and positions, and that it will continue to do so for years to come. One needs to maintain a constant balance between stretching and relaxing, between strengthening and yielding, and between the quietness of the inner SELF and the performance of outer body.

It is important to understand that failure to achieve or to finalise a certain move does not mean that one is a failure; the concept of "failing" should be seen as a reward and a further opportunity to learn. As an Eastern Zen master states:

"They say that once you are contented with what you are, you will have no growth, no progress. This is I think a superficial understanding. Real growth, true progress, begins when you get at the truth of what you are; when you can say "it is absolutely alright", even though it may be very poor and miserable. So please observe your unsatisfactory situation more and more, and take better care of it as it is. Then you may see the door open to the next world. "

thank you......