RECONNECT WITH THE EARTH

Do you remember being a child and playing barefoot on the grass? Small children love rolling around on the floor inside or outside, it is their natural way of grounding themselves or connecting with the Earth.  As ancient Souls, newly born into physical bodies they instinctively know the value of pressing their bodies into the earth.  Even as adults, on a deep level we feel drawn to digging our feet into a sandy beach or a soft green lawn.

Recent scientific evidence now explains why it feels so good.   There are well researched studies that show the health benefits of spending some time barefoot.  When our bodies are in contact with the earth we absorb negative electrons from the Earth through the soles of our feet.

The Earth is negatively charged, and when you touch the earth in any way you connect your body to this huge negatively charged supply of energy and absorb electrons from it. As written in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine:⁴
"It is well established, though not widely known, that the surface of the earth possesses a limitless and continuously renewed supply of free or mobile electrons as a consequence of a global atmospheric electron circuit. Wearing shoes with insulating soles and/or sleeping in beds that are isolated from the electrical ground plane of the earth have disconnected most people from the earth's electrical rhythms and free electrons’
These negative electrons have an antioxidant effect on our bodies, in fact The National Library of Medicine's online resource PubMed lists 7021 studies and 522 review articles from a search of 'antioxidant + electron + free radical.' It is assumed that the influx of free electrons absorbed into the body through direct contact with the Earth likely neutralize and reduce acute and chronic inflammation.
Wow, all that from just doing something that feels good – walking on the earth with bare feet.  The bigger question might be – could this loss of connection with the Earth’s beneficial healing energy be causing some of the chronic illness, immune disorders, and inflammatory diseases that seem to have have increased in recent decades.
Since the 1960s, we have all been wearing insulating rubber or plastic soled shoes, instead of the traditional leather fashioned from hides, this has separated us from the Earth's energy field.   Going back a few decades many people were sleeping on the ground and connecting with the Earth as they slept.
So how much time walking barefoot is enough to get some health benefits from earthing yourself?  Rather than putting a time constraint on yourself, why not experiment with this and try walking barefoot on either soft grass or the beach.  Do this as a walking meditation and as much as possible keep your attention on how ‘you feel’, sometimes you will immediately feel a tingling sensation or a sense of well-being.   
You will also receive the health benefits of grounding by simply sitting or lying on the earth.  Your immune system functions optimally when you have an abundant supply of electrons.  Other benefits include relieving muscle tension, headaches and menstrual symptoms, reducing inflammation and stress hormones and improving blood pressure. Especially for people who are sick – and therefore have the most free radicals – the benefits can be dramatic. Those who are healthy usually report sleeping better and having more energy.  When walk barefoot for as little as half an hour a day you combine the benefits of grounding yourself with the Earth with all the other health benefits of regular exercise.
Here are some other ways to ground yourself:
1. Eat salty foods or even have some himalayan pink salt directly. Avoid sweets as they are more yin and wont help keep you grounded.
2. Eat grounding foods such as beets. They are very grounding.
3. Contract your anus or be consciously aware of this point. This is where the Root Chakra is located. It can also be helpful to visualize a square and the color red.
4. Meditate with the tongue tip at the back of the lower teeth and slightly push the whole tongue to the floor of your mouth. This will ground you.
5. Consciously feel your feet on the ground as you walk or stand. Try not to sit with you feet off of the floor.
6. Earthy smells are be very grounding. Take a walk in nature and pay attention to the scent of dirt, leaves and wood.


These two asanas are also good for activating the Root Chakra and grounding yourself.
Crow Pose: Begin standing and bring the feet a little wider than hip width’s distance apart, turn the toes outward. Slowly lower down into a squat, hips coming all the way down by the ankles if possible. Interlace the fingers, except for the index finger and straighten the arms so the fingers point straight ahead. Focus out beyond the horizon and begin long slow deep breathing. Let the inhales move down to the base of the spine filling this area with vitality as the exhales release any tension or blockages you may feel.

Chair Pose: Begin standing and bring feet shoulder’s width distance apart. Squat down until the thighs are parallel to the earth. Bring the hands through the inside of the legs, wrapping them around the back of the ankles and placing the palms on the tops of the feet. Keep the back straight and chin slightly tucked. Begin long deep breathing.

Enza DeLuca
www.blissfulmind.com.au
PS: You might also enjoy my book Blissful Mind, Blissful Body available online http://www.blissfulmind.com.au/#!blissfulbooks/cqn6

#yoga #kundaliniyoga #kundalini #newtown #meditation #fullmoon #pranayama #healing #newtownsydney #gong
#quotes #yogibhajan #blissfulmind #blissfulbites
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MEDITATION FOR A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

If there was only one thing I could urge people to do that had the power to make them Happier and Healthier – what would it be?

It’s not a pill, it’s not an exotic food, it doesn’t cost anything, or require specialised equipment, and you don’t need anyone’s permission.  Regular meditation is the one thing you could start doing today to improve your Life. 

You might be thinking ‘It was too hard’, ‘I didn’t notice any improvements’, all excuses borne of the fear of coming face to face with the innermost core of yourself, your Soul. 

The benefits of meditation have been well researched and documented and include increased immune function, emotional balance, fertility, lower blood pressure and inflammation and relief from insomnia, addictions and pain.  Beyond this, meditation provides a vital link between the physical and the eternal spirit you.  I believe we all yearn for a deep and conscious connection with our Souls, this is the hunger that we try to feed in our search for the ‘more’ that we believe will make us happy. 

We are searching for happiness in the wrong place, looking outside of ourselves and accumulating more ‘things’ can be fun, but without a strong Soul connection, we still feel empty.   We are looking for the other aspect of our self, the non-physical original self, that is part of the creative consciousness of the Universe.

 Meditation practice requires commitment to meditating every day for a minimum of 40 days.  You will need courage and discipline.  Simple meditation rules are;

·         Sit with a straight spine

·         Slow your breath

·         Calmly become the observer of your thoughts

·         Focus on the present moment

·         Start with 3 minutes, 11 minutes is great!

I practice and teach the Kundalini Yoga and Meditation as taught by Yogi Bhajan, however any daily meditation will give you benefits and make your life happier and healthier.

Today I’m going to share a very simple healing meditation which is perfect for beginners, it’s a breath meditation which is wonderful practiced just before going to bed, as it will guarantee a good night’s sleep.

MEDITATION FOR A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

TUNE IN: Always remember to tune in using the Adi Mantra before doing any Kundalini Yoga or Meditation to achieve the best results. Check out my youtube to learn the Adi Mantra.

POSTURE: Sit cross-legged position or on a straight-backed chair with both feet resting comfortably on the floor, with a straight spine and a gently neck lock (jalandhar bhandh).

EYE FOCUS: Focus your eyes softly at the tip of your nose.

BREATH: The breath pattern is:

Inhale for 4 beats, mentally vibrating the mantra SAA, TAA, NAA, MAA

Hold the breath for 16 beats, mentally vibrating the mantra SAA, TAA, NAA, MAA 4 times

Exhale the breath in 2 beats, mentally vibrating the mantra WAHE GURU.

TIMING: Start with three minutes, extending your time to 11 minutes

TO FINISH:  Inhale and exhale three times, Inhale and hold, raise the arms to 60 degrees (making a V with the arms), exhale and lower the arms, repeat three times. Bring your hands into prayer mudra and chant Sat Nam (I am Truth) three times to seal your practice

By Enza DeLuca

www.blissfulmind.com.au

PS: You might also enjoy my book Blissful Mind, Blissful Body available online http://www.blissfulmind.com.au/#!blissfulbooks/cqn6
#yoga #kundaliniyoga #kundalini #newtown #meditation #fullmoon #pranayama #healing #newtownsydney #gong
#quotes #yogibhajan #blissfulmind #blissfulbites
#wildsydney
#wildfood
#superfood

PRANAYAMA TO BALANCE THE METABOLISM

Have you ever considered why our noses have two nostrils? Not many people have, however as a student of yoga I learned that every part of our body is perfectly made and has a reason for being exactly the way it is.  We inhabit bodies that are finely tuned mechanisms operating on positive and negative electrical currents.  Yogi Bhajan the master of Kundalini Yoga taught that there are two energies within our bodies called Ida and Pingala that intertwine up the sides of the spine and that unite to form the Sushmana, the central channel.

The Ida energy, on the left, the moon energy:  receptive, calming, cooling, our feminine energy.  The Pingala, the right channel has the energy of the sun:  bright, fiery, projective and masculine.

These two systems of energy correspond to what western medicine understands as sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.   The sympathetic system, Pingala, is the energetic side associated with our fight or flight mechanism, it is activated in times of danger.  The parasympathetic system, or the Ida is the rest and repair side of the nervous system and it helps your body do the everyday household chores such as chasing down free radicals, digestion, elimination, sleep cycles and more.

The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system is known as the autonomic nervous system because the shift between the left and right is automatic when our bodies are running perfectly in balance.  Throughout the day we breathe more actively through either the right or the left nostril depending on which side of the nervous system is active within your body.  However when we deal with chronic stress over a long period of time adrenal glands can become overstimulated, sending out hormone that put the body into the stress based sympathetic side of the nervous system and keeping it there. 

When this happens our metabolism and immune system get out of whack – because our body does not spend enough in the parasympathetic side where energy is given to digesting food and ridding our body of toxins.

Yogi Bhajan taught that by taking control of which nostril is active is as simple as blocking off the other.  When you need to calm down, when your mind is racing faster than a hurricane, or when you can’t go to sleep, try left nostril (Ida) breathing.  Simply take your right hand and, with your fingers outstretched, block off your right nostril by putting gentle pressure on it with your right thumb.  Be sure to keep the rest of your fingers straight and pointing up towards the sky; the fingers act like antennas for the “cosmic” energy that surrounds us all. 

With a long, slow, deep breath, gently inhale through your left nostril.  Then, just as gently, exhale long, slowly and completely, again through the left nostril.  Relax your body as you feel the relaxing, cooling breath bringing new life into your body.  Relax even deeper with each exhale as you breathe out all tension, all stress and all disease.

This pranayama can be practiced as a meditation, sitting cross legged with the left hand in gyan mudra (thumb and index finger touching), while you block off your right nostril with your right thumb, with your other fingers pointing to the ceiling. Or it can be done while you are watching television.  To completely balance your metabolism practice left nostril breating for 62 minutes, every day for 90 days.

Enza DeLuca

www.blissfulmind.com.au

#yoga #kundaliniyoga #kundalini #newtown #meditation #fullmoon #pranayama #healing #newtownsydney #gong
#quotes #yogibhajan #blissfulmind #blissfulbites
#wildsydney
#wildfood
#superfood