With the current pandemic, many of us have been spending more time indoors and most likely experiencing more stress and tension than usual. Starting off your morning with a few easy and simple stretches can be one way to ease into the day, relieve a little bit of that stress, and do something good for your body.
Below are a few great resources that share simple morning stretches that require no equipment
via Morning Stretches — Metabolic Balance Blog
Vitamin D has in recent times come under greater scrutiny for its role in immunity. And it appears that the role has even greater connotations that previously thought. According to peer-reviewed published articles of US NAtional Library of MEdicine, without vitamin D we are at an increased risk of developing a host of infections when serum levels are not at par.
All vitamins play a huge part in helping us maintain homeostasis and subsequent health. Their specific roles are in a constant state of evolution and more and more research is being done and a plethora of new information comes to light.
In the age of “the virus” and many other bugs that seeks to injure us, our immune system is called upon to soldier up and defend its home. Information is constantly being passed down through various sources referencing the use of vitamins, more recently, vitamins C, D and zinc.
We know from past teachings that these vitamins play a pivotal role in boosting our immune systems an
via Vitamin D & Immunity — JustPene
Vitamin B Complex – Vegetarian
“There’s no use looking back at yesterday. Every morning when the sun rises, I am a changed person. Don’t let yesterday steal today’s joy.. Every time the sun rises, it’s a new opportunity to make your life the best of your life. Enjoy every moment.” Namaste enjoy your day” Buddha
Tonight I will be focusing on Sutra No. 5 from book one (which is the portion on contemplation) from The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. They are a collection of 196 Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga. The Yoga Sutras were compiled sometime between 500 BCE and 400 CE by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions.
Best translated to English it read...”There are five kinds of mental modification that are either painful or painless.”
Some thoughts bring us pain. Others do not. A good way to look at them as either being selfish or selfless thoughts. And if you’re thinking….I thought the whole point of the Sutras was to quiet the mind, remember this is number 5 out of 196. And while we try, this is the beginning and it takes time. So in book one, we’re learning and becoming an analyst of our mind….silently watching. This is part of the process. Books two, three and four will deal with Practice, Accomplishment and Absoluteness, respectively). So for know we simply acknowledge our thoughts and training us to have selfless thoughts.
The sources which present a full and complete picture of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā. Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa in the first century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra, and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghosa.
WATCH NOW – Basics of Zen Buddhism
READ FOR FREE – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, now in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilvastu, which may have been either in what is present-day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India. According to Buddhist tradition, he obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagar.
One of Gautama’s usual names was “Sakamuni” or “Sakyamunī” (“Sage of the Shakyas”). This and the evidence of the early texts suggests that he was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. The community was either a small republic, or an oligarchy. His father was an elected chieftain, or oligarch. Bronkhorst calls this eastern culture Greater Magadha and notes that “Buddhism and Jainism arose in a culture which was recognized as being non-Vedic”.
Eat Pray Love….by Elizabeth Gilbert
Soon to be released: Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life Hardcover – September 22, 2020 by my favorite author Dr. Deepak Chopra
The definitive book of meditation that will help you achieve new dimensions of stress-free living.
For the past thirty years, Deepak Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution in the West. Total Meditation offers a complete exploration and reinterpretation of the physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual benefits that this practice can bring. Deepak guides readers on how to wake up to new levels of awareness that will ultimately cultivate a clear vision, heal suffering in your mind and body, and help recover who you really are. Readers will undergo a transformative process, which will result in an awakening of the body, mind, and spirit that will allow you to live in a state of open, free, creative, and blissful awareness twenty-four hours a day.
With this book, Deepak elevates the practice of meditation to a life-changing quest for higher consciousness and a more fulfilling existence. He also incorporates new research on meditation and its benefits, provides practical awareness exercises, and concludes with a 52-week program of meditations to help revolutionize every aspect of your life.
“The mind is everything. What you think
When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you. Lao Tzu
Lao Tzu, also rendered as Laozi and Lao-Tze, was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions.
WATCH NOW – Basics of Zen Buddhism
READ FOR FREE – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha was a philosopher, mendicant, meditator, spiritual teacher, and religious leader who lived in Ancient India. He is revered as the founder of the world religion of Buddhism. He taught for around 45 years and built a large following, both monastic and lay
WATCH NOW – Basics of Zen Buddhism
READ FOR FREE – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
