Experience of Norway.

Our Convener of Ramakrishna Bhav Prachar Parishad UP Uttarakhand Sri Sukhad Ram Pandey is in Norway and has sent the following message for the devotees:
"I am in Norway right now for last one and half month  a country with highest or 2nd  highest HDI what makes them happy ?
I find people here are not complicated honest sincere true they love their country and have pride in whatwhatever they do may b a carpenter Mason electrician etc they are paid according to their skill any skilled worker has a pay cheque  as heavy as engineer doctor or even teachers
They pay their taxes so generally  do not require any tax evasion schemes and law enforcement  agencies like police lawyers etc are not required  at all .
Crime here is almost negligible  most importantly girls fr 1 to 100 can walk talk wear freely without any tabu and mind you I am in videsh but I hv not find any so called objectionable activity which is very common in our own lko ...any park lohiya, zoo , nbri,etc...
I think feeling  of national  fervour and honesty is lacking in our character even after so many years of freedom ..."

How to get sound sleep?

There are different views on the duration of our sleep every day.
Revered Swami Brahmanandaji ( Raja Maharaj ) said that there cannot be any fixed rule for all ; some require more, some less. However, 3 to 4 hours sleep should be enough & upto 5 hours for normal persons.
Revered Swami Vireswaranandaji, 10 th President of Ramakrishna Order has recommended 6 hours of sleep, whereas westerners insisit on 8 hours on average, that too varies with age.
So let's decide between 3 to 8 hours depending on our age, life style & requirement. The aim is to lead a healthy god - oriented life.



Best wishes.

Revered Swami Muktithananda,

Secretary,

Ramakrishna Math Lucknow
Contact no +91522-2321277

The Seated Forward Bend - Paschimottanasana followed by The Inclined Plane

Introduction

Paschimottanasana, the seated forward bend, is the fifth of the 12 basic postures of hatha yoga. There are many benefits of this posture, the main and most obvious one is to provide a complete stretch of the entire backside of the body from the back of the head through the heels. Immediately following this is the counterstretch, the inclined plane.

Physical Benefits

• Stretches the hamstrings on the back of the legs
• Stretches and lengthens the entire spine
• Massages the internal organs, especially the digestive organs
• Relieves digestive problems such as constipation
• Relieves problems with sciatica
• Invigorates the nervous system

Energetic (Pranic) Benefits

• Stimulates manipura chakra (solar plexus center)
• Balances the prana within the body

Mental Benefits

• Calms the mind
• Improves concentration

Technique

Paschimottanasana begins by coming up to a seated position.

• Sit up straight with your legs together, stretched out in front of you. Point both feet straight up towards the ceiling.
• Be sure you are sitting straight up on the sitbones with your spine straight. Many people benefit at this point by removing the flesh from underneath the sitbones so as to help remove curvature in the spine.
• Inhale, and stretch your arms up over your head. Following the direction of your hands, at the same time lengthen the entire spine upwards.
• Exhale and bend forward from the hips keeping your spine as elongated as possible and reaching towards your feet with your hands as you come down.
• If you can reach your feet, the ideal hand position is to wrap your index fingers around the big toes, with the thumbs resting on tops of the big toes.
• If you cannot reach your feet yet, let your hands fall comfortably on top of the shins or thighs, or alongside the legs on the floor, or wherever they can comfortably rest.
• For this posture, try to avoid a lot of curvature in middle part of the spine. It is best to keep the back more straight, although not rigid, and bend from the hip area.
• Be sure to keep the feet pointed straight up towards the ceiling and together.
• Once in position, you can gently pull with the arms on the feet or legs, stretching the head more towards the feet and giving an additional stretch to the spine and backs of the legs.
• As you continue to hold the posture, relax as much as possible, especially in the shoulders and hips. With each exhale let your breath do the work - ideally the abdomen should fall closer toward the thighs, the chest toward the knees and the head towards the feet.
• Hold the asana for 30 seconds at first and work up to 5 minutes or more.
To come out of the seated forward bend, inhale and stretch your hands past your feet, come up with a flat back stretching your arms and spine up as your body comes up. Exhale and relax the arms down.

Contra-indications

Because in the West we tend to sit on soft, comfortable furniture, this deceptively easy-looking asana can take a long time to perfect. The muscles of the hips and backs of the legs are very powerful and can take awhile to loosen before one can come fully into this pose. However, you can get the proper benefits of the posture by holding as still as possble at whatever stage you are at, with the understanding that with regular practice over time you will be able to make significant progress in this asana.
This most excellent of all asanas, Paschimottanasana, makes the breath flow through the Sushumna, rouses the gastric fire, makes the loins lean, and removes all diseases.Hatha Yoga Pradipika,
Chapter 1, verse 29

The Inclined Plane

The inclined plane is the counterstretch to the seated forward bend and follows immediately afterward. The inclined plane increases strength and flexibility in the muscles of the arms, shoulders and back, and improves balance.

Technique

• Bring your hands behind you on the mat with your fingertips pointed away from the body.
• Inhale deeply, drop your head back and lift your hips as high as you can.
• Your hands and feet should be on the floor with the body lifted as high as possible in between, lifting up with the muscles of the lower back, legs straight. Your head should drop behind you with the neck relaxed.
• Try to bring the bottoms of the feet flat to the floor.
• Hold the asana for 10 to 30 seconds.
To come out of the inclined plane, exhale and release the hips back down to the floor.
The seated forward bend is part of the basic yoga class.

Swami ji on Yoga

Swami Vivekananda on Yoga....

The science of Yoga claims that it has discovered the laws which develop this personality, and by proper attention to those laws and methods, each one can grow and strengthen his personality. This is one of the great practical things, and this is the secret of all education. This has a universal application. In the life of a householder, in the life of the poor, the rich, the man of business, the spiritual man, in every one's life, it is a great thing, the strengthening of this personality. There are laws, very fine, which are behind the physical laws, as we know. That is to say, there are no such realities as a physical world, a mental world, a spiritual world. Whatever is, is one. Let us say, it is a sort of tapering existence; the thickest part is here, it tapers and becomes finer and finer. The finest is what we call spirit; the grossest, the body. And just as it is here in microcosm, it is exactly the same in the macrocosm. The universe of ours is exactly like that; it is the gross external thickness, and it tapers into something finer and finer until it becomes God. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda -Volume 2 [ Page : 16 ] -THE POWERS OF THE MIND)

To become harmoniously balanced in all these four directions is my ideal of religion. And this religion is attained by what we, in India, call Yoga -- union. To the worker, it is union between men and the whole of humanity; to the mystic, between his lower and Higher Self; to the lover, union between himself and the God of Love; and to the philosopher, it is the union of all existence. This is what is meant by Yoga. This is a Sanskrit term, and these four divisions of Yoga have in Sanskrit different name. The man who seeks after this kind of union is called a Yogi. The worker is called the Karma - Yogi. He who seeks the union through love is called the Bhakti - Yogi. He who seeks it through mysticism is called the Raja - Yogi. And he who seeks it through philosophy is called the Jnana - Yogi. So this word Yogi comprises them all. (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda -Volume 2 [ Page : 388 ] -THE IDEAL OF A UNIVERSAL RELIGION)