.../p>In this article it also shows the service men and women engaging in sit-ups. Let's take this point by point:

- Yes, the "core" does involve the abdominals and back, but what about the activation of the glutes and hip complex and their role stabilizing the pelvis?

- Yes, posture is very important and determines the athete's ability to activate and engage the appropriate musculature for specific movements. Bad posture will spawn dysfunctional and compensation. Pilates and yoga inherently promote better flexibility, bu...more

Concentration and Meditation

...es limiting attention to as small portion of this territory as possible. One usually chooses an object of concentration. But there can be a movement of thought within the object itself. As long as there are thoughts they will cause distraction resulting in an interruption of concentration.

Meditation on the other hand is defined as uninterrupted flow of the mind toward the object of concentration. This means a complete cessation of distractions implying the absence of the thought process. And this is the definition of yoga itself as given in the very first sutra. Another way of seeing the distractions is in terms of the degree or depth of concentration. If the depth is not at its highest point there would be a break in the continuity of attention. So the essential difference, at least from a technical point of view, is uninterrupted flow of attention.

The use of the word attention may cause some confusion. Attention necessarily implies the presence...more

Could a Blind Man Become a Yoga Teacher?

...s all. It is hard to imagine being blind every day, with so many things that most of us take for granted.

If you want to take a short tour of what it feels like to be blind, close your eyes, and within minutes your other senses will improve. Did you ever notice your hearing improves, when you try to meditate? Try to move around without opening your eyes, but use caution.

When you shut off one of your senses, the rest of your senses will become sharper, as a result of your handicap. A blind Yoga teacher will most likely have better cueing skills than most of us. With another Yoga teacher in the...more

Tips For Finding The Right Yoga Teacher

.... In other words, are they suggesting you place your power outside of yourself, or do they reiterate that you in fact are your own guide, and can get their quite well under your own steam.

* Are they (or the prominent representatives of their yoga discipline) overly concerned with money, fame, power, the size of their organization, or their degree of influence? If they (the organization) certify yoga teachers, how long do the teachers have to train for? What are they trained in and what aren't they taught about?

* How well does the teacher embody the basic spiritual qualities of compassion, kindness, peace, joy, and equanimity? Whilst we are all beings at various stages of the journey, it helps to look at a teacher's character, and ethics. No-one needs to be perfect, but what qualities, of themselves, are they bringing to class.

...more

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