Author: Hemant Bawankar

MEDITATION: MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING

LEARNING VIDEO #1

This is the first video in a series of videos to learn and practice meditation by yourself by listening to and following the video.

It gives simple and straight instructions to meditate in pure form. Just follow the instructions and meditate.

Practice meditation on a daily basis listening to the video. When you feel confident that you are comfortable and ready, you may go to the next video in the series.

We will be happy to have your feedback and would answer any questions that you may have. Questions may be sent to us at [email protected].

Voice in the video:

Jagat Singh Bisht, Founder: LifeSkills

MEDITATION:

Meditation is a practice that makes it possible to cultivate and develop certain basic positive human qualities in the same way as other forms of training make it possible to play a musical instrument or acquire any other skill.

The object of meditation is the mind. For the moment, it is simultaneously confused, agitated, rebellious and subject to innumerable conditioned and automatic patterns. The goal of meditation is not to shut down the mind or anaesthetise it, but rather to make it free, lucid and balanced.

Experienced meditators have demonstrated qualities of focused attention that are not found among beginners. For example, they are able to maintain more or less perfect concentration on a particular task for forty-five minutes, whereas most people cannot go beyond five or ten minutes before they begin making an increasing number of mistakes.

The primary goal of meditation is to transform our experience of the world but it has also been shown that meditation has beneficial effects on our health. Scientific experiments have shown that twenty minutes of daily practice of meditation can contribute significantly to the reduction of stress, whose harmful effects on health are well established.

It also reduces anxiety, the tendency towards anger and the risk of relapse for people who have previously undergone depression. Eight weeks of meditation for thirty minutes a day significantly strengthens the immune system, reinforces positive emotions, and reduces arterial pressure in those suffering from high blood pressure.

If we consider that the possible benefit of meditation is to have a new experience of the world each moment in our lives, then it doesn’t seem excessive to spend at least twenty minutes a day getting to know our mind better and training it towards this kind of purpose.

The fruition of meditation could be described as an optimal way of being, or again, as genuine happiness. This true and lasting happiness is a profound sense of having realized to the utmost the potential we have within us for wisdom and accomplishment. Working towards this kind of fulfilment is an adventure worth embarking upon.

THE ART OF MEDITATION by MATTHIEU RICARD

Jagat Singh Bisht, Founder: LifeSkills

SURYA NAMASKARA: SALUTATIONS TO THE SUN

(For Video please click on following picture)

Surya namaskara is a well-known and vital technique within the yogic repertoire. It is a practice which has been handed down from the sages of vedic times. Surya means ‘sun’ and namaskara means ‘salutation’.

It is a technique of solar vitalization, a series of exercises which recharge us like a battery, enabling us to live more fully and joyfully with dynamism and skill in action.

Surya namaskara is a series of twelve physical postures. These alternate backward and forward bending asanas flex and stretch the spinal column and limbs through their maximum range. The series gives such a profound stretch to the whole body that few other forms of exercise can be compared with it.

It is almost a complete sadhana in itself, containing asana, pranayama and meditational techniques within the main structure of the practice. It also has the depth and completeness of a spiritual practice.

Surya namaskara can be easily integrated into our daily lives as it requires only five to fifteen minutes’ practice daily to obtain beneficial results remarkably quickly.

Surya namaskara demo by: Radhika Bisht, Founder: LifeSkills

Reference book:   Surya Namaskara – A Technique of Solar Vitalization by Swami Satyananda Saraswati

(This is only a demonstration to facilitate practice of the asanas. It must be supplemented by a thorough study of each of the asanas. Careful attention must be paid to the contra indications in respect of each one of the asanas. It is advisable to practice under the guidance of a yoga teacher.)

Groom yourself as Facilitator Master Teacher (Yoga, Meditation & Laughter Yoga

During the next year (2019), RadhikaJagat Bisht and Jagat Singh Bisht, Founders: LifeSkills, will conduct training to groom facilitators/ master teachers. This will enable them to learn, understand, practise, and propagate life skills for health, happiness and tranquillity. It includes practical sessions on the art of Meditation, the basics of Yoga and the fundamentals of Laughter Yoga. Also included are inputs on the elements of Happiness and Well-being and the quintessence of Spirituality.

If you are interested, please send us an email at [email protected].