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 This
section will highlight the teachings of Yogi Amrit
Desai.
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Third Eye Meditation
By Gurudev
Meditation. The very word invokes scenes of serenity
and tranquility, beckoning us to a mystical place
of awareness and all knowing. But how many of
us actually reach that state during hours of sitting
on our cushion?
For most, meditation is as elusive as any esoteric
practice could be. In frustration, many practitioners
may give it up in favor of Hatha Yoga or some
other discipline in which they feel they are accomplishing
something. Without question, meditation is difficult.
In a single hour, our brain processes some 2,000
thoughts. How challenging it is to sit and simply
observe those myriad thoughts without becoming
involved in a mental dialogue about them. Our
legs invariably begin to ache, our skin itches
and we become totally dissatisfied with our performance,
deriding ourselves for our inability to even sit
still for half an hour. Such self-judgment could
not be further from the aim of meditation.
In the practice of Yoga Nidra and Third Eye Meditation,
the practitioner has the welcome opportunity to
drop all the typical entrapments of traditional
mediation. Yoga Nidra is the marriage of science
and spirit-a simple healing technique practiced
by yogis for millennia. It is the unique combination
of alert awareness and deepest relaxation, which
takes your brain to the alpha state and eventually
the even deeper theta wave state, releasing the
integrative powers of the Third Eye and the higher
centers of consciousness. Here, without effort
or strain, you are able to tap into your own source
of intuition, creativity, health and abundance.
The literal translation of nidra is sleep. However,
in the practice of yoga, it is a dynamic state,
not the unconscious sleep of slumber. It is practiced
in a comfortable lying down position, shavasana.
The facilitator guides you through a series of
breathing exercises and simple instructions that
you perform mentally. In some methods, visual
imagery is used or a scan of the body, where the
mind momentarily focuses on a marma point (e.g.
shoulder, elbow, wrist, and so on.) This occupies
the mind with something mundane, preventing it
from becoming involved in the usual mind-chatter
that absorbs our ordinary consciousness and diminishes
our energy.
Within a short time, the practitioner is submerged
in the alpha state, where brain rhythms drop into
the silent space within. Once your body is relaxed
and your mind is calm, all energies are focused
on the Third Eye, the inner sanctuary located
between the eyebrows. Here you are simultaneously
able to access both the logical left brain and
the intuitive, insightful right brain. This naturally
and effortlessly brings you into integration,
where you experience deep relaxation yet remain
aware and conscious.
Modern science now reinforces what yogis discovered
thousands of years ago-that focusing on the Third
Eye reactivates hormones located in the pineal
gland in center of the brain. This concept is
central to both Yoga Nidra and the Amrit Yoga
system. Scientific studies confirm that the pineal
gland hormone, melatonin, is a powerful agent
in helping prevent illness, retard premature aging,
reduce stress, induce more restful sleep, boost
the immune system, and promote healing
While ordinary sleep may renew the body and refreshes
the mind, it cannot alter your unconscious programming.
Yoga Nidra relaxes, rejuvenates and renews not
just the physical body, but also empowers you
to eliminate the unconscious obstructions that
keep you from connecting to the source from which
your inborn potential may be actualized.
| Yoga Nidra
is the marriage of science and spirit-a transformative
technique whose powerful healing qualities
transcend all aspects of your being.
Modern research has proven the benefits
of meditative techniques on lowering stress
and promoting overall health:
- Electroencephalograph studies (EEG)
demonstrate the increase of alpha brain
waves, which are directly linked with
the relaxation of the nervous system
- Stress hormones are reduced, blood pressure
and heart rates decline and the metabolic
system slows down
- Regular practice adds years to your
lifespan (5-12 years if practiced daily)
- Reactivating the pineal gland secretes
melatonin, which helps prevent illness,
retard premature aging, induce more restful
sleep, boost the immune system, and promote
healing
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Gurudev will be leading the first-ever Yoga
Nidra Teacher Training in June and November of
2005. This rare learning opportunity can catapult
your business, whether it is teaching yoga, counseling
or in the healing profession, into a new dimension,
either one-on-one or in group sessions. Enhance
your skills with this life-transforming technique.
Learn
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