Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Meditation Obstacles
The classic meditation obstacles, affectionately called ‘hindrances’ in meditation terminology are:
- Dullness (sleepiness)
- Restlesness (from boredom, pain or an agitated mind)
- Negativity (simply the natural balance for over optimism)
- Desire (wanting to reject the moment we are in and jump to a better moment)
- Doubt (thinking no progress is happening or possible)
- Aversion (wanting to be doing something else)
These hindrances (meditation obstacles) will definitely arise, so accept them as inevitable and wait them to disperse. Later, you will find specific meditation practices to help you accept or let go these meditation obstacles, should they persist. It is worth remembering, however, that hindrances are not signs of spiritual failure, but opportunities to acquaint us with our mental landscape. They are not enemies but doors into greater levels of insight.
Going back to the above meditation obstacles, desire warrants some further explanation. First, desire forces your mind into fantasy mode, because the moment you see or perceive something you want, you will fantasize about what you could do with it, or how it will enhance your pleasure or add to your self-esteem. For example, you might desire extra money. Why? Because you imagine all the things you could buy with it. As a result, your mind is forced into fantasy about the future, even though you do not yet have that money to fulfill the fantasy.
The other problem with desire is that one fulfilled desire can spawn a hundred more, because desire is inherently insatiable.
To make progress it is not necessary to be renunciate, as required of a monk. But it is question of degree. The message is: The simpler your needs, tha easier it is to overcome meditation obstacles and the easier it is to keep your mind in the present.
So, what if you are living a busy life in the material world? Does it mean there is no point in even trying? On the contrary, meditation might be difficult at first, but it will gradually disentangle your thought patterns, help you identify the trivial and offer a clear perspective on life. Finally you can overcome your meditation obstacles, even in a very busy life.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Mind Focusing in Meditation
Those people who do not practice meditation can be forgiven for believing they might be better employed doing something useful and creative instead. However, once you begin to practice meditation (reading about it is useful but not enough), you will find that your ability to focus your mind is progressively developed. So, rather than suppresing creativity and the imagination for your mind focusing, meditation will enhance them.
People might also be forgiven at this stage for wondering what the difference is between the mind focusing of meditation and the mind focusing required for less noble activities. To make the point with an extreme and slightly facetious comparison, let us compare meditation with the act of creeping around a house with a view to burglary. It is true that something like burglary requires total alertness and mind focusing, but there are differences. The concentration of burglary is a state of high tension, easily diverted by any sudden threat of discovery. It is adrenaline based and therefore accompanied by increased heartbeat and nervous tension. It is not motivated by compassion or high ethics, and after the act, burglars are probably totally exhausted. Emotions will be elated if sufficient booty was gathered, or depressed if it was insufficient. Either way, equanimity of mind will elude the burglar.
Meditation will bring physiological and emotional results exactly opposite to the mind focusing of burglary. The mind focusing of meditation will move us towards patience, clarity, compassion and wisdom, and away from resistance, distractness, indifference and overreaction.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Winsor Pilates Review: Pros and Cons
Being a popular fitness program worldwide, Winsor Pilates is not impossible to create another breakthrough in the fitness industry. Winsor Pilates having achieved a great number of unexpected clients, still continue to attract people with its videos and successful Winsor Pilates reviews.
Winsor Pilates reviews, being the focal point of the discussion in this article, mostly contain comments whether positive or negative about the unmatched performances of conditioning and shaping the body fit from head to toe that the Winsor Pilates offered. We cannot deny that in a certain explanation, the presence of pros and cons is always evident.
So with that, some of the Winsor Pilates reviews mostly vary from the most positive to the least negative. And some Winsor Pilates reviews have much positive comments than negative. Well, it just somehow shows how effective the Winsor Pilates works.
Some of the Winsor Pilates reviews contain information and proofs that the Winsor Pilates really works. In most Winsor Pilates reviews, the adjectives like challenging, great, fun, etc. are the most commonly found support for the claim that Winsor Pilates is the best fitness program the industry ever made. Most of those Winsor Pilates reviews indicate that the Winsor Pilates really tones the body and especially good at working the abs. Winsor Pilates clients claimed that when they tried Winsor Pilates their abs became tighter than ever been before. They also feel toned in the leg area, especially the quads. However, mostly in Winsor Pilates reviews claimed that none of the moves really targets the arms. Comment like Winsor Pilates strengthens the abdominal and back muscles of the body is common in most Winsor Pilates reviews. Others in Winsor Pilates reviews noted that Winsor Pilates is similar to yoga in that paying so much attention to the body kinesics forces the Winsor Pilates takers to let go of stressful thoughts and feelings.
However, those stated above are just among the positive comments made by most Winsor Pilates takers, other comments fall to the negative category. Aside from stating positive manners of Winsor Pilates, many Winsor Pilates reviews as well noted that the Winsor Pilates is very much expensive and the instruction can seem wordy. It does not really support the claim that by doing the Winsor Pilates tapes alone you can totally melt away the pounds and the inches. Some of the Winsor Pilates reviews stated that Pilates still need to be incorporated into a well-balanced routine, including plenty of aerobic exercise and a healthy diet. But whatever the case may be, it is just natural to know that those Winsor Pilates reviews have positive and negative sides and are just modes of expressions.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Reaching Nirvana with Winsor Pilates Workout
Winsor Pilates workout became popular for its successful and incredible results offered to most of the celebrities like Patrick Swayze, Madonna, Sandra Bullock, Vanessa Williams, and many other. Winsor Pilates workout is generally considered as a powerful tool or an excellent body sculpting system for losing weight, sculpting long and lean muscles and reshaping your body from top to bottom. It is frequently noted that with just a single look on the Winsor Pilates workout videos and other mode of Pilates sytem, you will attain a great feeling of nirvana. Not bad because Winsor Pilates workout is ideal for everyone whether you are physically fit or out of shape, young or old.
Winsor Pilates workout is in fact considered as the best workout the industry ever made. Just like any other Pilates-based workouts, Winsor Pilates workout bestows a great workout routine with the rhythmic blending of mind and body that can actually uplift your energy levels over time. Winsor Pilates workout, as a body-honing fitness program, is no doubt create a great positive impact to most of the Winsor Pilates workout clients.
Moreover, the Winsor Pilates workout has been widely used for decades by popular dancers, athletes, and even celebrities to enhance their strength throughout the body while developing the overall muscle tone. However, the Winsor Pilates workout kinesics is actually not really easy at first, especially to those amateurs or to someone who is never been into this kind of fitness program, but no problem because Mari Winsor, one of the most acclaimed Pilates instructors, does a great job in teaching the Winsor Pilates workout proper techniques and exercise form in all the available Winsor Pilates workout videos.
But let us accept the fact that when we talk about something, there is always an accompanied negative aspect to every positive manner. Most of the Winsor Pilate workout clients, however, comment that the Winsor Pilates workout program has been marketed as a weight loss solution. This is due to the fact that the Winsor Pilate workout program has never been considered as an effective exercise for burning fat. This claim holds true for the nature of the Winsor Pilates workout program is done much slower than the other to get the heart rate up sufficiently. And many still claim that even though the Winsor Pilates workout involve a kind of “sped up” Pilates which indeed can reduce inches while doing it, the Winsor Pilates workout is still not a great weight loss solution.
But hold on because the mystery continues when a physical Winsor Pilates workout is combined with a healthy eating habit and some form of aerobic exercise, which is performed 2 to 3 times a week. Such method of Winsor Pilates workout will certainly result to a leaner, firmer, healthier body. Finally, Winsor Pilates workout is still considered as the great alternative to a typical weight training due its ability to build the kinds of functional stamina and suppleness which can help you stay free from injury for a lifetime.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Winsor Pilates Basic Principles
Before anything else, I would like to state that the Pilates fitness program is first developed by Joseph Pilates who had a lifetime interest in body conditioning in 1920s. His interest in physical fitness rooted from his strong determination to strengthen his body and improve his health after a sickly childhood. From that, Joseph formulated a distinct sequence of movements that worked the mind and muscle in harmony.
Oops, enough for history. Now, let’s go to the core message of this article – Winsor Pilates basic principles. Winsor Pilates program focuses mainly on bodyweight which incude exercises which stretch, strengthen , and tone all the muscles of the body, especially those of the core or abdominal and lower back regions. As such, the Winsor Pilates provide Winsor Pilates basic principles for those who are interested in such area. Among those Winsor Pilates basic principles are: Concentration; Control or Precision; Centering; Stabilizing; Breathing; Alignment; Fluidity; and Integration. Each Winsor Pilates basic principle has its own essential characteristic.
Concentration, as the first Winsor Pilates basic principle, is very important to attain a successful workout. With this Winsor Pilates basic principle, the awareness of the body will be enhanced due to the mind-body connection which results to conscious control of movement. The second Winsor Pilates basic principle, Control or precision, is not about intensity or multiple “reps” but it is more of descent form of snug, emphatic results. Centering, as the third Winsor Pilates basic principle, functions mentally within the body to calm the spirit. In this Winsor Pilates basic canon, a focus on the torso – abs, pelvic girdle, lower back, gluts – results to the improvement in a strong core and enables the rest of the body to function properly. All action with this Winsor Pilates basic principle performs from the trunk and flows outwards to the extremities. The fourth Winsor Pilates basic convention – Stabilizing – is important because in Winsor Pilates, before you move you have to be still for a safe starting place for kinesics. Breathing on the other hand, as the fifth Winsor Pilates basic principle, must range from deep, coordinated, conscious diaphragmatic procedures of inhales and exhales to initiate mobility and help in the activation of the muscles and to keep you focused. Furthermore, the sixth Winsor Pilates basic canon which is alignment is very essential because it is the key to good posture. With such Winsor Pilates basic principle, you will be conscious of the position of your neck on the spine and pelvis, right down through the legs and toes. In the seventh Winsor Pilates principle – Fluidity – a smooth, continuous motion rather than jazzy repetitions will create an elegant and graceful look. Lastly, the integration of all those Winsor Pilates basic principles will result to a holistic mind-body workout.
So with those above stated Winsor Pilates basic principles, I am sure that everyone will enjoy their adventure to a stronger and healthier looks.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Mari Winsor Pilates Method
Mari Winsor Pilates being an excellent approach to fitness, was originally developed by a German national who became well-known for his lifelong interest in body conditioning named Joseph Pilates nearly a century ago. In general, Mari Winsor Pilates program is generally conceptualized to shape and sculpt your entire body and help you lose weight at the same time.
So how does Mari Winsor Pilates work?
Everything is possible when it comes to Mari Winsor Pilates. So, just leave everything to Mari Winsor Pilates’ key to Pilates system, the “dynamic sequencing”. For your information, Mari Winsor Pilates “dynamic sequencing” may be two words at the first glance and may not mean much to some, but with many celebrity clients and millions of Mari Winsor Pilate’s fans, “dynamic sequencing” has precisely changed their lives. Mari Winsor Pilates’ “dynamic sequencing” is a special combination of controlled movements that assured to guise and construct long and lean muscles in a flake of the time of other workouts.
The molding of the body with Mari Winsor Pilates is done through a low-density, calorie-burning workout that sculpts your body slim and helps you lose weight and inches. Mari Winsor Pilates works with the human powerhouse or core muscle groups such as abdomen, lower back hips, and buttocks. With Mari Winsor Pilates, I am sure everybody will be delighted for its combination of music icons, celebrities and professional athletes, and this method will indeed bring Pilates into a new level of public recognition.
The pleasure does not end there because Mari Winsor Pilates aside from its easy to understand combination of exercises done in a specific order and rhythm to produce incredible results, Mari Winsor Pilates does not require any requirement and can be applied even at home or while traveling. It is in fact amazing that some people even practice it at work! Thus anyone can do Mari Winsor Pilates at any fitness level.
Lastly, Mari Winsor Pilates not only developed the “dynamic sequencing” to help you get toned and sculpted and all the same time, lose weight, but Mari Winsor Pilates is the only Pilates program that highlights special “virtual 3-D training” that shows the correct position through its unique view with graphics and special camera angles. Mari Winsor Pilates complete Pilates program is easy to follow at your own pace.