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Please don't quit your practice when you read this but, over your lifetime, you will spend $62,640 doing yoga.
That's according to a recent survey done by OnePoll. Here's how it breaks down:
Interestingly, no yogi is complaining. Eighty-seven percent of people who have tried yoga are in a better mood when they leave the studio — which is why they keep coming back for more. Of the 2,000 people studied, 62 percent had done yoga at least once in their life. Yogis practice an average of twice per week, while yogis who prefer group classes practice even more often: 16 percent of them practice at least five times a week.
One more thing, and it's very important: Group classes leave yogis feeling happier than those who just do yoga at home. The survey revealed that 56 percent of people who typically do yoga in group classes say they are “very happy” after a yoga class, compared to just 36 percent of people who practice individually.
That's according to a recent survey done by OnePoll. Here's how it breaks down:
- Habits of 2,000 Americans found dedicated yogis will pay out just under $90 on yoga a month, or $1,044 a year.
- In a lifetime, a yogi will spend $28,800 just on yoga classes and an additional $33,840 on other yoga essentials like apparel, mats and props.
Interestingly, no yogi is complaining. Eighty-seven percent of people who have tried yoga are in a better mood when they leave the studio — which is why they keep coming back for more. Of the 2,000 people studied, 62 percent had done yoga at least once in their life. Yogis practice an average of twice per week, while yogis who prefer group classes practice even more often: 16 percent of them practice at least five times a week.
One more thing, and it's very important: Group classes leave yogis feeling happier than those who just do yoga at home. The survey revealed that 56 percent of people who typically do yoga in group classes say they are “very happy” after a yoga class, compared to just 36 percent of people who practice individually.
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The three poisons of greed, anger and ignorance are also major causes of illness.
- Hsing Yun
- Hsing Yun
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The word 'attention' comes from the Latin attendere, which literally means 'to stretch. As we pay attention to, and therefore stretch, the interval in the mind between seeing and interpreting, knowing and understanding, perceiving and reacting, the world becomes a very different place. - Ben Ponte
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A forty-year old male who has practiced meditation regularly for 15 years was instructed to sit upright in a chair and instructed, by a researcher, to prepare for meditation by relaxing completely and refining his breathing as he would normally do for meditation. Electrodes have been attached to his forehead and fingertips to monitor muscle tension and hand temperature. A blood pressure cuff is on his right arm.
Watching a screen carefully for a few minutes, the researcher notices that the level of sympathetic nervous system - the one which stimulates our flight-or-flight response and elevates stress – remains high. That is not what would be expected from an experienced meditator. So, he instructed the man to lengthen his exhalation so it would be twice as long as his inhalation.
A postive effect emerges immediately: his heart rate begins to decrease on exhalation and increase during inhalation indicating a lowering level of the sympathetic nervous system. Continuing that breath pattern, the man settles into deeper relaxation, one that creates ideal conditions for meditation.
It’s called 2:1 breathing and it prompts the vagus nerve (running from the neck down through the diaphragm) sends a signal to your brain to turn up your parasympathetic nervous system and turn down your sympathetic nervous system. It’s ideal not only for meditation but to simply lower fear and stress. Here’s how to do 2:1 breathing.
1. Be seated comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Keep your back straight but not rigid.
2. As your breath normally count the duration of your inhales and exhales. Most people find their count for normal inhales and exhales is 3 or 4.
3. Proceed to make your exhalation twice as long as your inhalation.
4. Once you’ve established this pattern you can stop counting but be certain the exhale is approximately twice as long as the inhalation.
5. Do this for five minutes, gradually extending it to ten.
Benefits: lowers stress, reduces fear and anxiety; promotes relaxation.
(feel free to re-post and/or share on your social media.)
Watching a screen carefully for a few minutes, the researcher notices that the level of sympathetic nervous system - the one which stimulates our flight-or-flight response and elevates stress – remains high. That is not what would be expected from an experienced meditator. So, he instructed the man to lengthen his exhalation so it would be twice as long as his inhalation.
A postive effect emerges immediately: his heart rate begins to decrease on exhalation and increase during inhalation indicating a lowering level of the sympathetic nervous system. Continuing that breath pattern, the man settles into deeper relaxation, one that creates ideal conditions for meditation.
It’s called 2:1 breathing and it prompts the vagus nerve (running from the neck down through the diaphragm) sends a signal to your brain to turn up your parasympathetic nervous system and turn down your sympathetic nervous system. It’s ideal not only for meditation but to simply lower fear and stress. Here’s how to do 2:1 breathing.
1. Be seated comfortably in a chair or on the floor. Keep your back straight but not rigid.
2. As your breath normally count the duration of your inhales and exhales. Most people find their count for normal inhales and exhales is 3 or 4.
3. Proceed to make your exhalation twice as long as your inhalation.
4. Once you’ve established this pattern you can stop counting but be certain the exhale is approximately twice as long as the inhalation.
5. Do this for five minutes, gradually extending it to ten.
Benefits: lowers stress, reduces fear and anxiety; promotes relaxation.
(feel free to re-post and/or share on your social media.)
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All life is sacred in the Buddhist’s eyes,—not human life alone. - Alan Bennett
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The website Buddhist Door reported, around 36 percent of Japan’s population identify as Buddhist, but few regularly visit Buddhist temples, except during traditional ceremonies, such as funeral rites or new year celebrations. As a result, 27,000 of the country’s 77,000 temples are expected to close within the next 25 years.
The issue is that Japanese Buddhism has largely become a religion of ritual, largely performing funeral rituals. In any religion, when ritual becomes primary, the spirit of it becomes secondary. People seek out and want meaning in life. Seldom can ritual and recitation fill that void.
The issue is that Japanese Buddhism has largely become a religion of ritual, largely performing funeral rituals. In any religion, when ritual becomes primary, the spirit of it becomes secondary. People seek out and want meaning in life. Seldom can ritual and recitation fill that void.
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The most meaningful thing in life is helping other people – treating the elderly as your own parents, all youngsters as your own children, and all your peers as your siblings. You should regard the whole world with motherly love. - Cheng Yen
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The most precious thing
in this world
is not money, fame,
power, or position;
rather it is health.
Only with health can one
enjoy the happiness of life.
- Hsing Yun
in this world
is not money, fame,
power, or position;
rather it is health.
Only with health can one
enjoy the happiness of life.
- Hsing Yun
- Published on
(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)
Indra Devi, the woman who brought yoga to the Western Hemisphere and who lived a healthy life until she died in her 102 year, often advised sleeping in the nude. It was something she learned in India and practiced all her life.
Interestingly, an increasing amount of research verifies the health benefits of sleeping without clothing on. Consider these:
- You will fall asleep faster and sleep better. The ideal sleep temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees. Without pajamas your bed temperature will automatically be lower.
- It is leads to better genital health for both women and men. Too many people are in their underwear nearly 24 hours a day limited exposure to fresh air for that part of the body.
- Sleeping nude feels better. No constrictive bra, underwear, pants, shirt to twist around each time you change body positions.
- You skin will benefit. The largest organ of the body is your skin and all of it needs exposure to air. Athlete's foot, for example, is the result of skin devoid of air exposure.
- Cortisol levels drop. It's the hormone which produces stress in the body. Sleeping nude, lowers body temperature which, in turn, lowers cortisol levels.
- Reproductive organs maintain higher health. For men, the cooler sleeping conditions allows your testes to remain at a cooler temperature. This helps keep sperm count high and healthy. For women, the cooler and more airy sleeping conditions helps prevent yeast infections. Yeast grows better in warm, moist conditions.
- It's good for weight loss and weight management. As your body cools, it has to work harder to generate heat. This burns calories while you're sleeping.
(feel free to re-post and / or link to your social media)