SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY

Bhujangasana is known as the snake or cobras pose because it reflects the look of a raised hood. As you raise your head along with your chest it represents a snake hood. The rest of the body lies down representing the body of the snake. This asana can be one of the best asanas for your back as well as your spine. 

Inhaling and exhaling plays a very important part in this or any other asanas. Bending and stretching of your back may differ between individuals. As some has their youth to help whereas some manage even without that. It all depends on how flexible your body is and how much can you bend, to make the utmost use from your asana.

It has been said that, as long as your back is flexible you still have a long way to go. Every muscle of your body is pulled and stretched which gives the elasticity and suppleness to your backbone. With the passing of age our back starts throwing tantrums and becomes very stiff against our wishes. Before any such thing happens tone your body and other parts of your body by doing this asana. 

By stretching, it tones the spinal column which reflects your back and with the extra pull entire abdominal muscles get toned too. Torpid muscles like uterine muscles and ovaries get toned too while doing this asana. It is one of the best asana which serves as a medicine for wet-dreams and leucorrhoea. It also helps in developing your chest as well as firming the bust due to the raising hood position. 

This position helps in creating the necessary pressure to the adrenal glands which provides rich supply of blood for the entire body. Liver and other organs next to it also benefits from this asana. Problems of irregular menstrual cycles can be solved with this asana. The pressure applied on your stomach and muscles helps in relieving you from constipation problems. Acute gas troubles are also resolved if the asana is done on a regular basis. People suffering from slip disc problem gain due to the stretching of spinal column giving it a proper toning. Your backache problems may just leave you forever if you do this continuously.

There are different forms of yoga. This type of exercise can leave you toned and supple or you may even be spiritually enlightened according to some teachers. 

Yoga is the latest thing. It has reshaped some of the greatest stars all the way from Madonna to Sting.

Some forms of yoga are more physical and some are highly spiritual. Yoga is extremely good for fatigue, depression, arthritis, aging, stress-related illness,
migraine, PMS, back pain and mobility problems.


You must first decide why you wish to start yoga and then go about choosing the appropriate form for you.

The principles of yoga are quite simple - relax, tune out everything and stretch and you will feel better.


If you are looking to get fit these types of yoga are for you:


" Hatha yoga "

This type of yoga is based on controlled stretching.
An emphasis is placed on developing a flexible spine.
This type of yoga is excellent for all levels of
fitness.


" Vini yoga "

This type of yoga is gentle and safe and is very good
for older people. It is taught by a teacher called a
Desikachar and is usually taught on an individual
basis.

If you really want to get physical then you should
choose these types of yoga:


" Lyenger yoga "


This type of yoga focuses on correct postures. It
often makes use of ropes and blocks to maintain these
postures.


" Sivananda yoga "

This type of yoga is suitable for every age and covers
a wide range of poses which range from simple to
complex. " Ashtanga yoga " This type of yoga is known
as power yoga. It is very demanding and is only
suitable for those people who are very fit.


For those of you who want to get spiritual, then you
would want to choose from these types of yoga:


" Raja yoga "

This is often referred to as royal yoga. It is
concerned with the mind.


" Dru yoga "

This is group yoga which concentrates very heavily on
breath work.


" Jnana yoga "

This concentrates on the philosophical aspects of
yoga and is very spiritual and meditative.

A thought is an energy. Energy always wants to manifest itself.

Energy can not be stocked or blocked. It will get out anyway. If you do something to prevent your energy from flowing, it will find another way to express itself. If you do not follow your own energy, your intuition, if you swim against the stream of your own flow, energy will express itself in sickness, tiredness, depression, skin diseases, temper tantrums, agressiveness and other not so pleasant things.

So why not follow the road where your energy takes you? This is your road, your way!

Do you know the song “I did it my way”? Well, if you do things your way, if you dare being yourself, you will feel the energy.

As long as you try to be somebody else to please your parents, peers, husband, wife, boss, children, neighbours or whatever, your energy will be stuck.

Ok, you say, but won’t I become selfish, an outlaw, a social disaster by following my own road? No! You will become yourself. That is freedom : to be yourself. 

See the world like a big wardrobe. Everybody has his own costume. There is only one that fits you perfectly. As long as you try to be someone else, you are walking around with a costume that is either too small or too big for you. You don’t feel comfortable in it. And what else is, you “stole” a costume that belongs to someone else! That means you are not at the right place doing the right thing with the right people! You took someone else’s place, someone else’s costume!

How can you know if you are at the right place, doing the right thing with the right people? There is a very simple criterion to find out : the questions stop in your mind! This spinning machine in your head that was torturing you for years has just stopped by itself! You can feel it : you feel good, everything is “right”, your talents are asked for and you have the greatest pleasure to offer them to the those around you. Everything falls at his place. Questions vanish and make place for peace.

As long as you torture yourself with all these questions, it means you still didn’t find your right spot on earth. You are doing an activity that somebody else should be doing. And your “job” is getting done by someone else who is not at his right place either! You see? It’s like a puzzle : if everyone is at his right place doing the thing he knows the best, everyone would be at peace, filled with energy and health, and everyone would live in wealth.

Go searching for your right place. The moment you stop being harassed by so many questions and you feel your energy flowing in your veins, you know this is it! You are on your road, your road to freedom. This IS freedom!

Look for it, go for it!

Do you want to put a smile on someone's face today? Maybe make their day a little better. It won't cost you a single penny or much time to do just that. And because smiling is contagious, it probably won't just be one person you make smile today.

Here are 20 ways to turn that frown upside down.

1.  Send some flowers to your partner at work.

2.  Compliment a friend or work colleague on their appearance.

3.  Donate something to charity.

4.  Take a friend out to lunch.

5.  Let someone know you miss them.

6.  Make a surprise telephone call to your partner at work, just to say hi.

7.  Hold a door open for someone walking behind you.

8.  Hug your partner for no reason.

9.  Leave a joke on a friends answer machine.

10. Send a card to a friend letting them know what a good friend they are.

11. Give up your seat on the train to someone when there aren't any left.

12. Share your umbrella on a rainy day.

13. Ask a friend if they need anything while you're out shopping.

14. When it's raining, plan an indoor picnic with your children.

15. Leave a love letter somewhere where your partner will find it.

16. Send someone an unusual and unexpected gift like chocolate, flowers or sex toys.

17. Tell your child you're proud of them.

18. Tell someone you thought about them the other day.

19. Cook a surprise meal for your partner one night, especially if they normally do the cooking.

20. Tell your partner you love them.

Did you know it takes only 17 muscles to smile, but 43 to frown. Why waste all that energy frowning when you could just smile. 

Here are 5 more facts about smiling.

1. Women smile more than men.

2. Smiling releases endorphins that make us feel better.

3. We are all born with the ability to smile, it's not something we learn from others.

4. A smile is a universal expression of happiness.

5. A smiling person is thought to be a more pleasant, attractive, sociable, sincere and competent than a non-smiling person.

Just remember, smiling is the easiest and cheapest way of improving your looks.

Do you want to put a smile on someone's face today? Maybe make their day a little better. It won't cost you a single penny or much time to do just that. And because smiling is contagious, it probably won't just be one person you make smile today.

Here are 20 ways to turn that frown upside down.

1.  Send some flowers to your partner at work.

2.  Compliment a friend or work colleague on their appearance.

3.  Donate something to charity.

4.  Take a friend out to lunch.

5.  Let someone know you miss them.

6.  Make a surprise telephone call to your partner at work, just to say hi.

7.  Hold a door open for someone walking behind you.

8.  Hug your partner for no reason.

9.  Leave a joke on a friends answer machine.

10. Send a card to a friend letting them know what a good friend they are.

11. Give up your seat on the train to someone when there aren't any left.

12. Share your umbrella on a rainy day.

13. Ask a friend if they need anything while you're out shopping.

14. When it's raining, plan an indoor picnic with your children.

15. Leave a love letter somewhere where your partner will find it.

16. Send someone an unusual and unexpected gift like chocolate, flowers or sex toys.

17. Tell your child you're proud of them.

18. Tell someone you thought about them the other day.

19. Cook a surprise meal for your partner one night, especially if they normally do the cooking.

20. Tell your partner you love them.

Did you know it takes only 17 muscles to smile, but 43 to frown. Why waste all that energy frowning when you could just smile. 

Here are 5 more facts about smiling.

1. Women smile more than men.

2. Smiling releases endorphins that make us feel better.

3. We are all born with the ability to smile, it's not something we learn from others.

4. A smile is a universal expression of happiness.

5. A smiling person is thought to be a more pleasant, attractive, sociable, sincere and competent than a non-smiling person.

Just remember, smiling is the easiest and cheapest way of improving your looks.

I was always somebody who felt quite sorry for myself, what I had not got compared to my friends, how much of a struggle my life seemed to be compared to others. I was caught up in a web of negativity and needed someone or something to help me to escape.

During an afternoon at work one day, aged around twenty one, a colleague I was working with started to talk to me. What he said was quite upsetting and disturbing, however would have a profound effect on my future. He said to me:

"Your quite a depressive person, aren't you?"

"Am I?"

I said in a shocked voice as I believed I was no different to anybody else. He continued:

"Yes you are. You very rarely smile, you are negative about most issues and you always seem to be carrying the world on your shoulders".

This man was aged around fifty three and continued:

"I used to be like you and then I was given some advice, of which I am now going to relay to you. When you feel down, depressed or sorry for yourself, read the newspapers or watch the news on the television. You may then realise that you are in fact one of the lucky ones."

I listened and thought about what he had said. I had never been a big reader or watcher of the news, but decided to start. The advice was totally correct, the news from around the world and even my own country was quite shocking. I realised that the worries I had were actually quite trivial and that I needed to cherish everyday and start to look on the bright side of life.

Stephen Hill