Happy Poetic New Year!

We kick off the new year here at the Low Density Lifestyle website with a poem by Vermont-based poet David Tucker, who has graced our pages before, the most recent time with his poem The River-Woman’s Daughter.

David’s new poem is called Longing, and in the above video, David does a reading of the poem. In true poet fashion, David adds a visual twist to his reading.

This is what David has to say about himself:
“I am a poet who lives in Vermont where I struggle to dig from the rock of mundanity formed by the details and disappointments of life the images that will startle us and remind us how we are connected to each other and to all the universe.”

Here is David’s poem:

Longing

Now,
as sure as Hades hears no joy,
new snow will fall into my path
and all the footprints
marked my way
will disappear
because I burned
the scripture written on my youth:
‘Love the money not the kiss’.
Watch.
You’ll see.
I now must wander
the pathless sky because
my longing for the breath of God
has welded
shut my purse
in which I carry
my old compass,
my pride,
my wish for the praise of women.
And, my mother says,
worst of all,
I do not care.
I toss it all
for just a taste,
just a tiny shiver
from the sweet breath
that lights the dawn!

I would do differently
if I could.
I would be responsible.
I would be ambitious.
I would be good.
I would be the poster child of mental health
if I could
but I can hear
death sniff the vacant seconds
of my past
looking for my life
to chew
and drag into the dark.

And
in the forest
of the hammer blows
of time
and age
and death,
certainty rises
pink like a new sun
over the ocean
of my soul:
no one moment
is wide enough
to acquire the light
that breaks the grasp of night
unless the voice of God
licks it
until
it become as wide as the sun.
Come, Lady
who turns the stars
and bakes the light
that tingles in the belly of my soul,
lick the darkness
out of every moment.

She
who has knocked me to my knees,
cut the tendons of my will
and tied me to her bed.
I would trade a million dollars
for her kiss.
Wouldn’t you?

Enjoy the poem – whether you watch it, read it, or both, and see you next time as we continue the series on the Masters of Enlightenment, as part of the series on Spirituality.

And don’t forget: The Low Density Lifestyle book is now out! You can check out an excerpt from the book, and buy it, at the Low Density Lifestyle bookstore.

The Low Density Lifestyle Book is Here and On Sale for the Holidays!!

Just in time for the holidays, and to help you, your friends and your family live a healthier and happier life, from now until Dec. 31, the Low Density Lifestyle book and ebook are on sale!

When you buy one copy of the Low Density Lifestyle book at the regular price of $19.95, you will get a second copy free! And the ebook, normally $12.95, is on sale for $9.95.

Don’t delay – get your copy now, and make your holidays a Low Density Lifestyle one! Just scroll down to the order info below and you’ll be able to make the purchase.

Get your copy now of The Low Density Lifestyle, in book or ebook format!

___________________________

Download and read a free sample excerpt from the book by clicking here:

Low Density Lifestyle Book Excerpt

_________________________

The Low Density Lifestyle is the revolutionary new book by Dr. Michael Wayne, author of the groundbreaking book, Quantum-Integral Medicine: Towards a New Science of Healing and Human Potential.

The Low Density Lifestyle is experiencing and living in a more relaxed, less stressed, and calm, clear and focused manner on an everyday basis. It is also a way that can lead you to better health and happiness, along with living a more fulfilled and enlightened life.

This is a book about many things—health, wellness, happiness, fulfillment, doing what you love, movement, being a creative thinker—but at the same time, it’s about one thing: living to your maximum potential.

The goal with this book is to help you become a more complete human being. We are meant to live a healthy life, a more fulfilled life, a conscious life, and a more awakened life—this is what it means to be a complete human being.

And this is what is meant by living a Low Density Lifestyle: it is a model for living.

Get your copy now, and get ready to change your life!

________________________________________________________________________

Download and read a free sample excerpt from the book by clicking here:

Low Density Lifestyle Book Excerpt _____________________________________________________________________

The Store:

To order, click on the Add to Cart button underneath what you would like to purchase and then just follow the simple instructions. Except for The Low Density Lifestyle book, all other orders are digital, which means they can be instantly downloaded:

***To order a signed copy of the book, the cost is $19.95 + shipping (enter your country and zip/postal code to find out shipping costs):

Our holiday sale: Now through Dec. 31, for each copy of the book you buy, you will get another copy free! Just click on the button below, fill out the info, and we’ll take care of the rest!

***To order the instant download ebook, the cost is $12.95:

Our holiday sale: Now through Dec. 31, the price of the ebook is $9.95. Just click on the button below and fill out the info and you’ll pay just $9.95!

***In addition to the book, we now have available a variety of special reports, each for $5, and each instantly downloadable!:

***Special report #1:What is Chinese Medicine and How Can It Make You Become Healthier? (10 pages) $5

***Special report #2: The Top Herbs for Healing and the Top Ten Herbs for Stress Relief (9 pages) $5

***Special Report #3: How to Live a Low Density Lifestyle: The 12-Step Guide (6 pages) $5

***Special Report #4: How To Be Happy: 7 Steps to Help You Get On the Path of Doing What You Love and the 12 Secrets to Happiness (9 pages) $5

***Special Report #5: How to Develop Your Creative Intelligence and Vision: Do You Have What It Takes To Become A Visionary? (10 pages) $5

***Special Report #6: The Truth About Artificial Sweeteners and Why They’re Bad for Your Health (11 pages) $5

***Special Report #7: Stress and Relaxation: 10 Warning Signs You’re Stressed Out, and 30 Ways to Relax (8 pages) $5

A Look at Traditional Chinese Medicine, Part 1

During this series on the Roots of Medicine, having looked at Traditional Tibetan Medicine with the last article, and the time before having looked at Ayurvedic Medicine, today I turn my sights on another ancient system of medicine: Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicine, like Tibetan and Ayurvedic Medicine, is a highly sophisticated and highly evolved system. Like all traditional forms of medicine, and like what Western Medicine used to be before it became a technological medicine, it is both a science and art.

(Full disclosure: as a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, I am highly biased towards this brilliant form of medicine.)

Chinese Medicine is a highly logical system of medicine, and all the concepts and theories that are part of it make a lot of sense.

Most people in the West, especially the U.S., when they think of Chinese Medicine, think of acupuncture. Yet acupuncture is just one modality within Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicine has five main modalities, what are called the Five Branches. Acupuncture is one modality; Chinese Herbal Medicine is another; dietary therapy is a third; tui na/shiatsu/acupressure is a fourth; and qi gong is the fifth.

In China, Chinese Herbal Medicine is considered the modality of choice for most internal medicine problems; in the West, acupuncture is seen as the primary modality of Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicine is a by-product of Taoism, the philosophy that is at the core of Chinese thinking. The Tao is translated as the “Path” or “Way” (of Life).

Taoism is based on the teachings of Lao Tzu, the Chinese sage in the sixth century B.C.E. He taught that “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.” He wrote his teachings down in 81 chapters, and this book forms the Tao Te Ching, which is the essence of Taoism.

He begins his teaching in the first chapter, where he says,
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.”

The essence of practicing Taoism is to learn to be in the flow – which is also the essence of living a Low Density Lifestyle. And in Taoism, to be in the flow is to be like water. As Lao Tzu says:
“The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

In dwelling, be close to the land.
In meditation, go deep in the heart.
In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
In speech, be true.
In ruling, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.

No fight: No blame.”

Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos, health and longevity, and wu wei (action through inaction, also known as effortless effort, which is a key component of living a Low Density Lifestyle), which is thought to produce harmony with the Universe.

And harmony with the Universe is an important tenet both of Taoism and Chinese Medicine. Harmony with the Universe is attained by balancing the needs of the opposites and bringing them together in union. The harmony of opposites is what the famous Taoist symbol, that of yin and yang in unison, speaks of.

Taoism philosophy states that from the Tao, the eternal force that permeates the universe, the opposite yet harmonizing forces of yin and yang, spring forth. And from yin and yang, the ten thousand things arise.

And thus, from this very simple philosophy does Chinese Medicine spring forth. In fact, all Chinese thinking stems from this philosophy, and because of this, the traditional Chinese arts, sciences and martial arts, are all manifestations of it.

In other words, all traditional aspects of Chinese culture are meant to be reflections of the Tao.

I’ll continue with this discussion in the next article, and take a more in-depth look at Chinese Medicine.

Onto a New Year

Happy New Year! And may it be a Low Density Lifestyle year, all year long.

I want to start the year in a nice way. No, I won’t be talking about New Year’s resolutions. That you see written and talked about all over the place, so I won’t bore you with that kind of thing.

Instead, I want to start the year off right, in a Low Density Lifestyle kind of way. For this entire week, before I begin writing on a specific series, which I will do next week, I will feature poetry.

Life is Poetry – poetry can make us feel lighter of body, mind and spirit, and often can speak to our soul. It talks to us in ways that prose often cannot, in rhythms and cadences that can reverberate and resonate with our deepest longings.

It can also help us be more in touch with the innate low density nature we all carry within. It is this instinct that propels us forward in life; it is a natural drive we all have, one that desires happiness, love, joy and peace.

Unfortunately, it gets muddied up and lost. And it is poetry that can help us find it.

And so, each day of this week we’ll hear from a different poet.

Today’s poet is David Tucker. I’ll let David tell you about himself:

“I am a poet who lives in Vermont where I struggle to dig from the rock of mundanity formed by the details and disappointments of life the images that will startle us and remind us how we are connected to each other and to all the universe.”

Here are some poems of David’s, to help us ring in the New Year and put us in a Low Density Lifestyle frame of mind.

David’s email address is davidshawnee@mac.com.

To Learn How to Love

It is so beautiful,
this life,
the sun,
Vermont,
evening creeping in
over the Green Mountains.

It is light,
sweet,
so beautiful,
this life,
that we are given
that we might
learn how to love.

A simple lesson
I cannot catch.
A lovely butterfly
too light and quick.
For weeks now
I grab
and cannot hold
how beautiful,
how sweet,
how light
is this life
we learn
how to love.

As the Morning Glory
buckles into the night
I crumple into
fear,
anger,
darkness.
I think
I may die soon.
I think
How quickly it passes.
I think
What have I accomplished?
I think
It is not fair.
I have forgotten.
I came here
to learn how to love
and
in the evening light,
in the sweet approach of night,
I remember,
this minute
is enough,
to love
is what I came to learn.
It is enough.

Sabbath,
For Catherine

I woke this morning
paused
only a minute,
ate a tiny slice of peace,
sipped a thimble of light,
jumped up
and put on
my harness,
walked to the field,
head down,
up to the plow,
snapped on the line,
flexed my thighs
and prepared to pull.

Then stopped,
staring at the clods
and broken sod.
What, oh Creator
do you have planned
for me
today?
Pulling this plow
is my idea.

I looked up,
unsnapped the line
and
suddenly
the air was full
of butterflys,
cobalt blue wings
with
eyes as gold
as daffodils.
I broke up
the plow and made a drum.
We danced,
stepping and leaping
on the hard ground,
broke it into velvet loam.
Ready
to receive
the seed.

Meditation

You cannot trap

the sunshine

or

capture love

Maybe

for a minute

or a night

but

time

always shows up

cuts their chains

and

they escape

into the hills

Relax

stop pushing

let it go

let it all go

There is a trap door

in the top

of every second

Lift

Enter

The Gods will pour

cups of quiet

tap the drum of peace

fish diamonds from your soul

and

kiss the scales

off your eyes

till

you see

this is the only place

your enemy

time

cannot enter

to steal

your sunshine

and

your love.

What Would a Low Density Lifestyle World Look Like?

Over the next few weeks, and leading into the holiday season, I want to explore a pretty big and dynamic topic.

I will be exploring the question, What Would a Low Density Lifestyle World Look Like?

What I mean by this is, What kind of a world would we live in if a majority of people, or at least a solid minority of people, were folks who lived a Low Density Lifestyle?

These would be people who were light of body and mind, who understood and embodied the concept of flow, who understood how to relax and not let stress overwhelm them, and who were passionate about what they do in life.

They would also be people who lived by the 12 step guide to living a Low Density Lifestyle, meaning they:

***Eat a healthy, whole foods oriented diet.

***Understand how to take care of their health, and are proactive in doing so.

***Are active and move, especially in ways that accentuate flow.

***Are flexible of body and mind, and don’t allow themselves to get caught up in rigid and dogmatic thinking.

***Are mindful of their actions and reactions, meaning they are fully aware of how they interact with others.

***Carry themselves with integrity, and maintain their authentic nature.

***Do their utmost to keep a positive attitude about life, and make

sure their emotional well-being is tended to.

***Have an abundance mindset, as opposed to a scarcity one. In other

words, they know there is enough to go around and they willingly share, as

opposed to believing that it’s every person for themselves and you have to

get yours before someone takes it from you.

***Have a great sense of humor, don’t take themselves too seriously, and

laugh easily.

***Are creative people, and are capable of using their creative intelligence

and can easily think outside the box. Where problems might bog others

down, they can come up with creative solutions.

***The work they do is something that they love and feel passionate

about it.

***Feel a strong connection to the spiritual dimension of life.

So what kind of world would it be if it was a Low Density Lifestyle world? It would be a tremendous and magnificent one!

It would be a world of peace; a world of a sane health care system; a world where people helped one another without thinking, what’s in it for me; a world where people lived their dream and answered to their calling; a world where people could overcome their fears and take bold action; a world where people didn’t let things impede them from finding what it is that they loved to do; and a world of forward-thinking visionaries.

In other words, it would be one amazing and mighty world.

So I invite you to take a trip with me over the next few weeks and dream along with me of what this type of world would look like.

It will be fun, it will exhilarating, and it will be inspiring: so over the next few weeks put it on your radar, and we’ll all take this ride together.

And who knows: when this series is over and we all have a good feel for what a Low Density Lifestyle world would look like, we can all then resolve to make it happen.

And happen soon.

Movement: Feeling the Pulse of Life

To close this series on movement and exercise, I offer you this video montage that I have put together.

It’s called Movement: Feeling the Pulse of Life, and it sums up the essence of everything I’ve tried to explain about movement and exercise and its ability to help us feel lighter of body, mind and spirit.

Watch the video and as you do, see if the spirit moves you to get up and start moving. Even if you don’t start moving, see if you start feeling the flow of energy through your body as you watch it.

Movement can help you live a Low Density Lifestyle because it helps you feel the pulse of life course through your body, and can help you get in the zone.

We are all kinesthetic.  All you have to do is find what type of movement fits your temperament, and then just go do it.

Maybe it’s yoga, maybe it’s tai chi, maybe it’s Nia, maybe it’s running barefoot, maybe it’s singing and dancing like Elvis.

But whatever it is, just remember to move. Cause then you’ll be feeling the pulse of life.

Dancing Through Life with Nia

In this series on movement and exercise, I’ve written about yoga and tai chi, two movement forms that fit in well with a Low Density Lifestyle approach to movement.

Another movement approach that is oriented towards enhancing the flow state, and as such is another Low Density Lifestyle movement approach is Nia, which is a lifestyle and movement practice.

Today’s article is guest

written by Katie Capelli, who is a Certified Nia Black Belt Instructor and who has been sharing the joy of Nia with students for 11 years. She has created a holistic movement studio, Bloom, that offers classes in Nia and other movement techniques. She is also a Certified Nutritionist and co-owns a Natural Foods store with her husband in upstate NY.

Here is Katie’s article:

In contrast to a fitness philosophy that pushes us into pain and discomfort to achieve results (“no pain, no gain”), sits the choice of Nia. An expressive movement and lifestyle technique based on a philosophy that Through Movement We Find Health, Nia is guided by the sensation of pleasure.

Nia embodies “The Body’s Way” – that is, everything we do in Nia is supported by the unique design of the body’s own elegant neuromuscular systems. Through this practice we learn how to foster our own body awareness to make movement choices that let the body say “aahhh” in response.

As a unique blend of technical precision and free-form expression, Nia offers the body, mind, emotions and spirit an integrated balanced state of health and is based on nine traditional movement forms: from the healing arts (Yoga, Alexander Technique, The Teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais), from the dance arts (Modern Dance, Duncan Dance, Jazz Dance) and from the martial arts (Aikido, Tae Kwon Do, T’ai Chi).

The goal is not how deep, how fast or how much we can do in class but rather how aware we can become of our own physical sensations. We become our own personal trainers.

As this awareness or inner voice begins to direct our movements, we then are free to adapt the movements to our own body potential. We explore how it feels to move from sharp to fluid, from large to small, from high to low. We learn to listen to our body while having fun, as it tells us how to adjust the movements so we will feel pleasure and joy.

Nia is adaptable to meet the unique needs of all ages, sizes, shapes and fitness levels and acknowledges that the body requires movement and energy variety. Practiced barefoot to all kinds of music, Nia is truly designed for every body.

Through Nia, it is possible to achieve mobility, flexibility, strength, cardiovascular conditioning, agility – all of the components that lead to whole-body conditioning. Most importantly, Nia leads us to a loving, sensory relationship with our own body, a body that holds an innate intelligence on how to live and be healthy.

To learn more about Katie’s Nia work and her studio, check out Bloom, A Movement Space.

And here’s another video that shows you Nia in action:

Nia Promotional Video 2005 from Nia Technique on Vimeo.

Tai Chi – The Power of Chi

I’ve talked about yoga for the last few days, as yoga is a movement approach that can help enhance the flow state, and as such can allow you to enter into Low Density Lifestyle mode.

Another movement form that is a true and abiding Low Density Lifestyle movement approach is Tai Chi.

Why is that? Because Tai chi is first and foremost about cultivating and enhancing the flow state, both in your practice of Tai chi and in everyday life.

And if that isn’t a Low Density Lifestyle approach to movement and to life, then I don’t know what is.

So let’s look at Tai chi and what it is.

Tai chi, or as it is more formally known, Tai chi chuan, is sometimes referred to as moving meditation or meditation in motion. It is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, and as a longevity practice.

When you practice tai chi, you move your body slowly, gently, with awareness, and with deep breathing.

Some of tai chi chuan’s training forms are well known to Westerners as the slow motion routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks around the world, particularly in China.

Today, tai chi has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu and Sun.

As the legend goes, tai chi’s origin is credited to Chang San-Feng, a Taoist monk. The monk developed a series of 13 exercises that mimic the movements of animals. Meditation and the concept of internal force were emphasized by the monk.

Tai chi adopted the concepts yin and yang (opposing forces within your body) and qi (vital energy or life force). Tai chi aims to support a balance of yin and yang, ultimately aiding the flow of qi.

There are various movements in tai chi – and each flows into the next. Posture, movement, concentration, and breathing are essential elements of tai chi.

The longer you do tai chi, the more capable you become of achieving the flow state in your movements, not just in tai chi but in everyday life.

There is a saying in Chinese philosophy that it takes 10 years to become a beginner. The same can be said of tai chi – that it takes 10 years to become a beginner, to really embed the flow state in everything you do.

This way of thinking is antithetical to the West, where we expect to develop mastery in a weekend.

But that’s not to say that tai chi doesn’t have benefits for the person who has not been practicing for 10 years. Studies have shown that tai chi has many health benefits, and that most of them are felt in the early days of doing tai chi.

It is known to improve:

* physical condition
* muscle strength
* coordination
* flexibility
* balance
* pain level and stiffness
* sleep
* general well-being

Furthermore, specific research has stated that tai chi can help with numerous health problems.

Researchers have found that intensive tai chi practice shows favorable effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and reduced the risk of falls in both healthy elderly patients, and those recovering from chronic stroke, heart failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s.

Tai chi can also be good for weight loss, as its gentle, low impact movements burn more calories than surfing and nearly as many as downhill skiing.

Other studies have shown that:
1) tai chi has reduced levels of LDLs 20–26 milligrams when practiced for 12–14 weeks.
2) tai chi showed the ability to greatly reduce pain and improve overall physical and mental health in people over 60 with severe osteoarthritis of the knee.
3) a pilot study, which has not been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, has found preliminary evidence that tai chi and related qigong may reduce the severity of diabetes.
4) tai chi boosts and strengthens the immune system.
5) tai chi can help with stress management and improve mental health – it has an effect on noradrenaline and cortisol production with an effect on mood and heart rate.
6) tai chi reduces the symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

So if you’re looking to get into the flow and feel more peaceful, calm, balanced and centered; if you’re looking to cultivate better health; and if you’re looking to live a Low Density Lifestyle, then tai chi may be for you.

One other thing: tai chi is considered the most powerful of all the martial arts because it teaches how to use your chi, your body’s energy system, in forceful ways. The catch to that is that you have to have practiced tai chi a long, long time to develop that power.

To show what I mean, below is a video of Master Shr, a Chinese master of tai chi. The video comes from the television program The Mystery of Chi, which appeared as a segment of a program Bill Moyers did called Healing and the Mind.

You may not believe what you see in the video, but believe me, this is real: this is the power of chi.

Yoga: The Divine Union

In yesterday’s article I gave you 10 outstanding yoga videos, all of which were excellent.

Some of the videos were historical in nature and traced back to the roots of modern yoga, showing some of the modern masters of this ancient art. There was a video from 1938 of Krishnamacharya, the grandfather of modern yoga. And there were two others video with his disciples, BKS Iyengar, founder of Iyengar Yoga, and Sri K. Pattahbi Jois, founder of Ashtanga Yoga.

The aim of yoga is to help the practitioner enter into the flow state, and as such it is a movement approach that definitely can be a strong aid in helping to live a Low Density Lifestyle.

I thought it would be nice today to look at the ancient roots of yoga, in order to help give a context for understanding the wisdom of this traditional modality, whose aim is to create a divine union between body, mind and soul.

Yoga (Sanskrit, Pāli: योग yóga) refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, and to the goal toward which that school directs its practices. In Jainism it refers to the sum total of all activities—mental, verbal and physical.

Major branches of yoga in Hindu philosophy include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Raja Yoga, compiled in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and known simply as yoga in the context of Hindu philosophy, is part of the Samkhya tradition.

Many other Hindu texts discuss aspects of yoga, including Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Shiva Samhita and various Tantras.

The Bhagavad Gita (’Song of the Lord’), uses the term yoga extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter (ch. 6) dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation, it introduces three prominent types of yoga:

* Karma yoga: The yoga of action
* Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion
* Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings, and is derived from the Sanskrit root “yuj,” meaning “to control,” “to yoke” or “to unite.” Translations include “joining,” “uniting,” “union,” “conjunction,” and “means.”

Outside India, the term yoga is typically associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy is called a yogi or yogini.

It was the Indian sage Patanjali, who lived in the second century BCE, who is widely regarded as the founder of the formal Yoga philosophy. Patanjali’s yoga is known as Raja yoga, which is a system for control of the mind. Patanjali defines the word “yoga” in his writings, specifically the second sutra of what became known as the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Hundreds of years later, yoga’s evolution continued with the development of Hatha Yoga by Yogi Swatmarama, in 15th century India.

Hatha Yoga differs substantially from the Raja Yoga of Patanjali in that it focuses on shatkarma, the purification of the physical body as leading to the purification of the mind and prana, or vital energy.

Compared to the seated asana, or sitting meditation posture, of Patanjali’s Raja yoga, it marks the development of asanas into the full body “postures” now in popular usage. Hatha Yoga in its many modern variations is the style that many people associate with the word “Yoga” today.

The goal of yoga ranges from improving health to achieving Moksha. Within Jainism and the monist schools of Advaita Vedanta and Shaivism, the goal of yoga takes the form of Moksha, which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), at which point there is a realization of identity with the Supreme Brahman.

In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is variously described as entering the world of Brahma, as Brahman, or as perceiving the Brahman or Atman that pervades all things. For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to Svayam bhagavan itself may be the ultimate goal of the yoga process, where the goal is to enjoy an eternal relationship with Vishnu.

Yoga also helps your body maintain a stable relationship with itself while going into a calm, neutral state of peace.

So whether you see yoga as a form of exercise that allows you to move in a more flowing way, or as a way to achieve a higher state of consciousness and a sense of liberation, either way, by practicing this ancient art, you will find yourself on the path of living a Low Density Lifestyle.

10 Outstanding Yoga Videos

I have talked about movement and exercise as a way to help you achieve more of a flow state.

Yoga is an excellent way to help cultivate the flow state.

With that in mind, here are 10 outstanding yoga videos that you can watch right here – feel free to watch one or all.

They can all help you to realize the flow state.

1) A guided meditation with Bridget Woods Kramer, a leading Anusara yoga teacher, filmed on the clifftops of Cornwall, England.

2) The breath and body move as one in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition. This classical path harnesses the power of the postures to reveal the pure awareness, freedom, and depth of all that is yoga. Renowned teacher Richard Freeman masterfully guides you through this precise union of breath, alignment, and flowing postures as taught to him by master yogi K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India.

3) Intro to Ashtanga with Richard Freeman.

4) Yoga for Beginners with Patricia Walden.

5) Vinyasa Flow Yoga Intro with Seane Corne. Vinyasa Flow Yoga is an experience to reconnect you to your personal sense of Spirit and strengthen mind and heart, as well as your body.

6) Morning Yoga – Tara Stiles shows a yoga routine that is great for waking up in the morning.

7) Everyday Yoga: Letting Go of Tension – with Rodney Yee.

A silent film of Krishnamacharya, granddaddy of modern yoga, in 1938. He was the teacher of BKS Iyengar and Sri K. Pattahbi Jois.

9) Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the founder of Ashtanga Yoga, in 2002 at age 87 in London teaching an Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series Class. Here he helps a student in GarbhaPindasana while counting in Sanskrit…

10) B.K.S. Iyengar 1938 silent newsreel. Here is a young Iyengar doing advanced poses that constitute the advanced A & B ashtanga series. This is well before Iyengar dropped the vinyasa aspect from his practice and rebranded it as “Iyengar Yoga,” putting greater emphasis on alignment.

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